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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were clearly official, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Related Policing Costs

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."