THE cost of providing protection to the British cabinet when it visited Liverpool earlier this month was £199,029, it has been revealed.

A total of 373 officers were involved in policing the event on January 8 – the first time a UK Government cabinet meeting has been held in Liverpool and only the third outside London since 1921.

The cost of policing the event was revealed by Lib-Dem Cllr Paula Keaveney, executive member of ethical governance, in a written question to Cllr Ian Jobling, who sits on the Merseyside Police Authority.

Last night Cllr Keaveney questioned the value of bringing the cabinet “circus” to Liverpool.

The force spent £47,396 on overtime, £4,113 on catering, £375 on car hire, and £1,955 on traffic management.

Other officers were either on normal duties or had their rest days varied.

Cllr Keaveney said: “It’s up to the Government where they travel but my concern is that the local taxpayers should not be picking up the bill.

“The cabinet could have achieved more without bringing the all the ministers and officials to Liverpool.”

“A lot more could have been achieved through individual ministerial visits without bring the circus to Liverpool.”

Merseyside Police is to apply to the Home Office to have costs reimbursed.