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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Provisional costs amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both trips were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his summer stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP JD Vance spent around a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly Police Scotland."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in Scotland as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the UK government covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer meeting with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."