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The UK government is being urged to "take responsibility" and cover the £24.5m cost incurred during recent trips by Donald Trump and JD Vance to the Scottish nation, according to a top Holyrood official.

Substantial Estimated Expenses Disclosed

Provisional costs amounting to almost £24.5 million for the pair of official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee described the UK government's unwillingness to offer financial support as "absurd," stating that both visits were obviously work-related, pointing out that the US president held discussions with European Union chief the EU's von der Leyen and UK prime minister Keir Starmer during his summer visit in the northern nation.

Details of the Visits and Related Security Expenses

The former president toured his golfing resorts at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a week-long trip in July, while American VP JD Vance spent approximately four days in Ayrshire in August.

In a formal letter to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary wrote that the trips placed "substantial operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government estimates that the estimated expense for policing the president's trip by itself was £21m, which involved maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while expenses for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the largest in Scotland since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, specialist units, volunteer officers and wider UK colleagues for specialist support.

Robison stated: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs incurred in relation to the trip of President Donald Trump to the nation in summer 2025 and the subsequent visit of VP JD Vance, I am writing you to ask that you review this stance and provide full reimbursement for the cost of the trips."

UK Government Reply and Previous Example

The British administration maintained that the visits were private and "not official UK government business." A representative added: "Holyrood are responsible for policing costs in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison pointed to past instances where the British administration covered the cost of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that trip came after a formal invitation from Westminster, in which instance it covered security costs under its funding guidelines.

"The UK government needs to step up and pay. I think it’s ridiculous, it was clearly a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Keir Starmer spending time with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, conducting international business with him, its really hard to believe to say this was just a personal vacation."