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The British administration is being called upon to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and JD Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Estimated Expenses Revealed

Preliminary costs amounting to nearly £24.5m for the two official trips have been made public by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the Westminster's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously official, noting that the American leader held discussions with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Sir Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Particulars of the Trips and Associated Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long period in the summer, while American VP Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a formal letter to the Treasury’s chief secretary Chief Secretary Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the visits placed "substantial strains and costs on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the provisional cost for securing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the VP's visit were about £3 million.

Large-Scale Security Mission

This extensive security mission was the biggest in the country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included local officers, national divisions, volunteer officers and officers from across the UK for specialist support.

The Finance Secretary stated: "Following your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the visit of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this decision and offer complete repayment for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Previous Example

The British administration stated that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover security expenses in the country as per established funding agreements for devolved matters."

While the Finance Secretary referenced past instances where the UK government reimbursed the cost of Trump’s 2018 visit to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a official UK government invitation, in which instance it included security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government must take action and pay. I think it’s unreasonable, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the PM Sir Keir spending time with the president, holding joint briefings with him, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was merely a private holiday trip."