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The UK government is being called upon to "step up" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

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

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to Scotland for costs incurred in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While the Finance Secretary referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is understood that visit came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."