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The UK government is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5 million for the pair of working visits have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Trips and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long trip in the summer, while US vice-president JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the provisional cost for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the largest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

The Finance Secretary stated: "After your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in July 2025 and the following visit of Vice-President Vance, I am contacting you to request that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The UK government maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for policing costs in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."