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The British administration is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both visits were obviously official, noting that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars 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 approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative added: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."