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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during the recent visits by former President Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly work-related, noting that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long 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 operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip alone was £21 million, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster 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 Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."