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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

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

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around 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, especially the Scottish police force."

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

Complex Policing Operation

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

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent visit of Vice-President JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."