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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5 million cost incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Preliminary expenses totalling nearly £24.5m for the pair of working visits have been published by the Scottish government.

Public Finance Minister McKee described the Westminster's refusal to offer financial support as "absurd," arguing that both trips were obviously official, pointing out that the US president held discussions with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer stay in Scotland.

Details of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

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

In a written communication to the Treasury’s chief secretary James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the visits placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on Scottish public services, particularly the Scottish police force."

The Edinburgh administration calculates that the estimated expense for securing the president's trip alone was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were about £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex policing operation was the largest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and involved regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to provide funding to Scotland for costs accrued in relation to the trip of Donald Trump to Scotland in July 2025 and the following visit of VP Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this decision and offer full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration maintained that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "Holyrood must cover security expenses in the country as per established devolved funding arrangements."

While Robison pointed to previous precedent where the UK government reimbursed the expense of the president's 2018 trip to the nation, it is believed that visit followed a formal UK government invitation, in which instance it covered protection expenses under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was obviously a official trip … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with them, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."