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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly official, noting that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, 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 cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."