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

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were obviously work-related, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Policing Costs

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were about £3m.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The UK government stated that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that trip followed a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with the president, having press conferences with him, conducting international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a personal vacation."