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The UK government 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

Provisional costs amounting to nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were clearly official, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a five-day period in July, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire 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, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the largest in the country 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.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this decision and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the UK government covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is understood that trip came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."