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The British administration is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly 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 summer visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive security mission was the biggest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government maintained that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip followed a formal invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."