The full cost of policing a secret conference for some of the richest and most powerful people in the world has been revealed as £990,000.
The organisers of the Bilderberg Conference held at The Grove Hotel, on the outskirts of Watford, have paid £500,000 towards the cost of the security operation, which included closing roads and putting an army of police on the ground.
It means that the rest of the bill – totalling £490,000 – will be met by the taxpayer, possibly through a grant from the Home Office.
Among the guest at the prestigious five-star venue were the heads of global banks and leading corporations, including Google’s Eric Schmidt and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
Attending from the world of UK politics were Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, cabinet minister Kenneth Clarke and House of Lords independent member John Kerr.
To meet the £490,000 Herts Constabulary bill, county police and crime commissioner David Lloyd has approved a bid to the Home office.
He said: “As an event of international significance, it is right that the burden of policing costs should not fall to the people of Hertfordshire.
“That is why I have approved the bid to the Home Office to cover the remaining gap in the costs and I anticipate that this will bring to a close our work on a successful event.”
The conference, which organisers describe as a forum for informal, off the record discussions about mega trends and the major issues facing the world, held between June 5 and June 9, saw more than 2,000 campaigners turn out but just two arrests were made. These were for minor offences.
Mr Lloyd said: “The policing operation was highly effective and showed how well placed the force is to handle such a large-scale event.
“The event put Hertfordshire in the media spotlight, nationally and internationally, and the force handled it really well.”