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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the two 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 visits were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie over a five-day trip in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the UK government covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which case it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."