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The UK government is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m expense incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Public Finance Minister McKee labeled the Westminster's refusal to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer during his July stay in the northern nation.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

Donald Trump visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie over a week-long period in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately a long weekend in the Ayrshire region in late summer.

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

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This extensive policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the passing of the late Queen in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, special constables and officers from across the UK for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP Vance, I am writing you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

Westminster Reply and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were personal and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson added: "Holyrood must cover policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the expense of Trump’s 2018 visit to the nation, it is understood that visit came after a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"Westminster must take action and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, engaging in global diplomacy with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a personal vacation."