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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by former President Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Revealed

Preliminary costs totalling almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, 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 summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

Donald Trump toured his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long trip in July, while US vice-president Vance spent around four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "significant strains and costs on Scottish public services, particularly Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which reflected peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3 million.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in Scotland 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 wrote: "Following your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for expenses incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following trip of Vice-President Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with him, engaging in global diplomacy with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."