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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Policing Costs

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it included protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."