A potential Donald Trump visit to Scotland next month would rack up a policing bill of around £5m, Police Scotland has said.

The force's interim chief constable Iain Livingstone said he still does not have clarity on if the event will take place, or whether there would be funding support from the UK Government.

There has been speculation that Trump's visit to the UK on July 13 could be extended to include a trip to Scotland, where he owns two golf resorts.

Addressing the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) board meeting in Glenrothes on Thursday, Livingstone indicated the potential dates of the operation were between July 12 and July 15.

He added: "We do not have final confirmation that the President of the United States will actually include any specific engagements in Scotland."

Even should Trump not visit Scotland, activists have vowed to hold protests across the UK, including in Edinburgh and Glasgow, to mark his first trip to Britain since taking office.

Livingstone highlighted that these protests would also require significant policing efforts.

Trump's trip to Britain is considered a working visit rather than a state visit, although the US ambassador to the UK has said Trump will still meet the Queen.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said UK ministers should not roll out the red carpet to the US president, while the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford has pressed Theresa May on the matter.

It comes amid the Trump administration's controversial policy of separating children from their parents at the US border, recently reversed, but not before affecting more than 2000 families.

Livingstone was asked about financing the potential police operation by the SPA's chairwoman Susan Deacon, appointed at the end of last year.

The police chief replied: "My estimation at this stage from the operational officers involved and from the finance support is potentially around the £5m mark, which is clearly a significant impact on an already very disciplined and focused budget.

"We don't really have clarity at this stage about where, if at all, such additional funding could be sought.

"I haven't had it clarified about the status of President Trump's potential visit - the level of distinction between an official visit and private visit and what implications that might have."

He said he understood that conversations on the visit were ongoing between the Scottish and UK governments.

However, Livingstone added: "I have concerns both about the amount of cost, around £5m, and... where, if at all, Police Scotland will be able to get some support for what is clearly a significant additional cost on normal policing."

A member of the SPA board clarified that "normal practice" in such circumstances would be for Police Scotland to provide costs figures to the SPA.

These figures would then be passed on to the Scottish Government, who could then seek reimbursement from UK counterparts.