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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."