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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and reimburse the £24.5m cost incurred during recent visits by Donald Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Provisional Costs Revealed

Provisional expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the two official trips 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 work-related, pointing out that the US president held meetings with EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and British PM Keir Starmer during his July visit in Scotland.

Particulars of the Visits and Related Policing Costs

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

In a written communication to the Treasury minister Chief Secretary Murray, Finance Secretary Shona Robison stated that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for policing the presidential visit by itself was £21m, which involved peak daily deployments of over 4,000 officers, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Policing Operation

This complex policing operation was the largest in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022, and involved local officers, specialist units, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison stated: "Following your decision not to offer financial support to Scotland for costs incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the subsequent trip of Vice-President JD Vance, I am contacting you to ask that you reconsider this stance and offer full reimbursement for the expense of the trips."

UK Government Response and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were private and "not part of official government duties." A spokesperson commented: "The Scottish government must cover policing costs in Scotland as per established devolved funding arrangements."

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

"Westminster needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a official trip … Especially when you have the PM Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, having press conferences with them, conducting global diplomacy with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a private holiday trip."