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£500k – what it cost to feed (and water) G20 leaders

By Michael Savage, Political Correspondent

When the world's most powerful leaders descended on London last month to tackle the economic crisis, they left Gordon Brown basking in the glory of brokering a deal to pump billions into the world's economy.

But it also left British taxpayers with a less desirable legacy – a bill of about £500,000 for wining and dining the delegates, their partners and their aides, The Independent can reveal.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that the cost of a series of dinners for dignitaries on the eve of the summit, crucial to boosting Mr Brown's global standing, cost more than £66,000. The high-profile guests consumed 136 bottles of wine worth £6,000, all paid for by the taxpayer.

Events laid on for the VIPs before the 2 April summit included a dinner, complete with a menu by Jamie Oliver, for the leaders and their partners at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street.

The guests, including Barack and Michelle Obama, were treated to organic Scottish salmon, followed by shoulder of lamb from the Elwy Valley in north Wales.

A string of celebrities, including the athlete Dame Kelly Holmes and the Harry Potter author JK Rowling, were also invited to the banquet.

Foreign and finance ministers were treated to entertainment at Lancaster House and the Tate Modern. The bill also included buffets for as many as 220 aides, bag carriers and advisers, but the bulk of the budget was used to cater for the 102 guests at the three events across London.

The cost of keeping 800 officials, 200 VIPs and other staff such as security workers and interpreters on the day of the conference at east London's ExCel Centre came to more than £435,000, although the Foreign Office says it can claw back some of the VAT it paid.

A top wine list was also drawn up, including English brands. The Foreign Office said it bought the wine for a fraction of its normal price by purchasing years ago, using the bottles only when they had matured. But the size of the total sum has left many MPs arguing that the public has been left footing the bill for an event designed to bolster the Prime Minister's reputation abroad.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said: "The picture of world leaders enjoying fine wine and great food, while thousands of people are worried about their jobs and homes is not a good one."

Grant Shapps, the Conservative front-bencher who has in the past exposed Government spending on hospitality, said the bill showed that Labour still "didn't get it".

The Foreign Office defended the hospitality costs, saying: "This was the most significant international gathering in the UK since the G8 in 2005."

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the most significant international gathering
[info]sweetbriar12 wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 03:07 am (UTC)
How dare you peasants complain, after all you are SUBJECTS of Betty Windsor-Mountbatten formerly Battenburg and her granny came from Germany. Just be damned glad that Gordon Brown a Scot to boot didna' hav' ta spend a penny of his own!
When you are elected to the international mutual back-slapping society, that is if you are of the ilk that is allowed, then you may complain. After all Michael isn't your family name Savage:)
[info]bowesy wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 06:23 am (UTC)
Great value for money - a wonderful gathering of the worlds finest minds - and what stunning out put. They saved the world and had a good meal, what is fairer than that?
Of course all this spending is the answer to getting us out of recession - so all part of gormless gordon's keynsian plan.

The cynic would say that there was no output - it was all about show boating, and any cost therefore a wasted cost, but of course they would be wrong.

Well done Gormless.
Entertaining G20
[info]fox2step wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 07:42 am (UTC)
From time memorable Nations have always put their best foot forward when entertaining foreign dignitaries, good gawd would you have served em "Shepherds Pie"?.
Re: Entertaining G20
[info]juandayatatime wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 11:26 am (UTC)
....From time memorable.....

PRICELESS!
I thought the UK was short of money
[info]deimosp wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 08:00 am (UTC)
But I suppose Gordon's PR is far more important than pensioners eating AND heating, more important than people who cannot get work surviving, etc.

Like holding cabinet meetings outside London - very expensive but PR for Gordon.
Knee-jerk journalism
[info]kuma2000 wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 08:17 am (UTC)
Once again we have one of these shock-horror you are being screwed tales that is great fodder for the Daily Mail crowd. There were quite a few bottles here that would look at home on the shelves of Sainsburys (is this Jamie Oliver's influence or Lord Sainsbury's?) as well as the more luxurious vintages quoted (again we are informed not bought at peak prices indicated here) which may seem a little extravagant but there were some pretty big movers and shakers here... There is quite a difference between 500K for a meal for 102 world leaders and 435K for a day's food for 1000 people in central London (including a banquet for 102 world leaders) isn't excessive... This is the kind of journalism we expect from The Sun or the Daily Express...

BTW this isn't the same Michael Savage who was denied entry to the UK for spreading extreme right-wing views?
Re: Knee-jerk journalism
[info]green_chris wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 09:15 am (UTC)
To kuma2000: "BTW this isn't the same Michael Savage who was denied entry to the UK for spreading extreme right-wing views?"

...I think you should go away and think about that for a bit...'knee-jerk' internet posting perhaps?
Re: Knee-jerk journalism
[info]dave55 wrote:
Friday, 8 May 2009 at 06:20 pm (UTC)
twat
Re: Knee-jerk journalism
[info]kuma2000 wrote:
Saturday, 9 May 2009 at 01:56 am (UTC)
Who said wit died with Oscar Wilde?
Re: Knee-jerk journalism
[info]dave55 wrote:
Friday, 8 May 2009 at 06:29 pm (UTC)
dear kuma2000
what a burk you are
Re: Knee-jerk journalism
[info]kuma2000 wrote:
Saturday, 9 May 2009 at 01:55 am (UTC)
Is that the best you can do?
Corporateocracy, central banking, empire building, slavery.
[info]solvoxuno wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 11:14 am (UTC)
ONE DEAD MANON THE STREET
[info]famulla wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 01:51 pm (UTC)
8 pints of blood is that cheap
Where were you when the kind cool-headed man walking on the street on the day the hot meeting of the G20 was? The police hit that cool calm poised man, by force, he fell down; we said he had a heart attack. The hospitals came and told us that this man has internal bleeding in the stomach that could have been caused by the brutal force of the police who know how to handle the thugs by more force then required. The man, this man was just walking to see the London streets. Never involved in the scuffle, dead. This is against the law of the World.
The son was very cool. Police gave one lie after another
LIE. Total cost We will inform you later
Yum Yum
[info]brumbar wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 07:45 pm (UTC)
I think that our dear friends the great and the good should set an example to the youth of today. Nothing too extreme, of course, like the daily diet of all those starving millions in the third world. We would not, after all, want our dear leaders to feel a little faint after their exertions. No, I think that a normal school meal would have been in order - a packet of crisps, a mars bar and a can of something fizzy.
G-20 expenses
[info]nelson3160 wrote:
Thursday, 7 May 2009 at 09:08 pm (UTC)
That is only to feed them - but what about the other expenses, for sheltering and "protecting"them.
We, of the rest of the world, shoud know how expensive is plannig fighting "poverty".

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