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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both visits were obviously official, pointing out that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

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

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

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary wrote: "After your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in connection with the trip of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which case it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."