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The British administration is being urged to "step up" and cover the £24.5 million expense incurred during the recent trips by former President Trump and Vice-President Vance to Scotland, according to a senior Holyrood official.

Significant Provisional Costs Disclosed

Preliminary expenses amounting to almost £24.5m for the two official trips have been published by the administration in Edinburgh.

Ivan McKee labeled the UK government's unwillingness to provide funding as "absurd," arguing that both trips were clearly work-related, 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

The former president visited his golf courses at Turnberry in Ayrshire and Menie in Aberdeenshire over a five-day period in July, while US vice-president JD Vance spent around a long weekend in Ayrshire in late summer.

In a written communication to the Treasury minister James Murray, Scotland’s finance secretary stated that the trips placed "significant operational and financial burdens on public services in Scotland, especially Police Scotland."

The Scottish government calculates that the estimated expense for securing the presidential visit alone was £21 million, which reflected maximum daily assignments of more than four thousand police, while costs for the vice-president’s trip were approximately £3m.

Complex Security Mission

This complex security mission was the biggest in the country since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and included regional police, national divisions, special constables and wider UK colleagues for expert assistance.

Robison wrote: "After your choice not to offer financial support to the Scottish government for costs accrued in relation to the visit of Donald Trump to Scotland in summer 2025 and the following visit of VP JD Vance, I am contacting you to request that you reconsider this stance and offer complete repayment for the expense of the visits."

UK Government Reply and Past Precedent

The British administration stated that the trips were personal and "not part of official government duties." A representative commented: "The Scottish government are responsible for security expenses in the country as per agreed funding agreements for devolved matters."

While Robison referenced past instances where the British administration covered the expense of the president's 2018 trip to Scotland, it is believed that visit came after a official invitation from Westminster, in which case it covered security costs under its statement of funding policy.

"The UK government needs to step up and cover the cost. I think it’s ridiculous, it was obviously a work visit … Particularly when you have the prime minister Sir Keir meeting with Donald Trump, holding joint briefings with them, engaging in international business with him, its really stretching the bounds of credibility to say this was just a personal vacation."