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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the two working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," arguing that both trips were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire 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, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

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

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."