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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" 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 Provisional Costs Disclosed

Provisional costs totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the Scottish government.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both visits were clearly work-related, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in Scotland.

Details of the Visits and Associated Security Expenses

The former president toured his golf courses at Turnberry and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in August.

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on Scottish public services, especially the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration estimates that the provisional cost for securing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than 4,000 officers, while expenses for the VP's visit were approximately £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved regional police, national divisions, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for expenses accrued in connection with the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the visits."

Westminster Response and Previous Example

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

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered protection expenses under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer meeting with the president, having press conferences with them, engaging in international business with them, its really hard to believe to say this was just a private holiday trip."