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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling almost £24.5m for the two working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to request that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

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

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."