LIVERPOOL’S dream of seeing cruise liners start and finish at the River Mersey Pier Head  terminal is back to square one, says council leader Joe Anderson.

That is after the government has rejected a Liverpool council proposal  to partially repay some of the government grant used to build the terminal.

City leaders had offered to pay back  £5.3m of the £9.2m Whitehall grant in order  to satisfy rules around unfair state aid.

But government transport minister  Mike Penning yesterday said Liverpool’s  offer was not good enough.

The rejection led council leader Joe  Anderson to admit the city was “back to  square one” in its bid to bring more of the  lucrative cruise trade to Merseyside.

The current terminal only allows ships to  stop off in the city and turnaround facilities  are only available at Langton dock in Bootle  which is next to a  scrapheap.

Liverpool’s plan to have its own, commercial ‘turnaround’ facility has met fierce  resistance from Southampton, whose  leaders have argued that public funding  should not be used towards what will  ultimately be a private sector, profitable  business.

In a ministerial statement, shipping  minister Mike Penning said: “I find that  there are persuasive arguments that this  level (£5.3m) of repayment would be  insufficient to reflect the adverse impact on  competition with other ports.

“I therefore intend shortly to seek  independent advice on a more appropriate  figure.”

Liverpool council had suggested it had  struck deals with cruise liner operators for  12 vessels to depart from the city over the  summer, plans that can not go ahead until a  solution is found to the current deadlock.