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

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

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

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, pointing out that the US president held meetings with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

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

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than 4,000 officers, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood are responsible for security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that trip followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Particularly when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."