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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following 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."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government covered the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."