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

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, noting that the US president held discussions 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 Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government calculates that the provisional cost for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this decision and provide complete repayment 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 representative commented: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."