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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been made public by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "ridiculous," stating that both trips were clearly official, noting that the American leader held meetings with EU Commission president the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president visited his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in the summer, while American VP 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 "significant operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over four thousand police, while costs for the VP's visit were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to provide funding to the Scottish government for costs accrued in connection with the visit of Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the following trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and provide full reimbursement for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The UK government stated that the visits were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in Scotland as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced previous precedent where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"Westminster must take action and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with him, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really hard to believe to say this was merely a private holiday trip."