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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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 UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly official, noting that the US president held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

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

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."