£5.5m cost of Bush visit

Scotland Yard was at the centre of conflict with the Government today over the estimated £5.5 million cost of policing George Bush's state visit.

Tony Blair rejected demands from the Yard's policing authority that the bill for security surrounding the event should be met by the Government.

However the Metropolitan Police Authority said it would be asking for help in meeting part, if not all of the costs for the 14,000 officers. Richard Barnes, deputy chairman of the MPA, said: "This operation is so out of the ordinary. We should not have to ask the council tax payers of London to foot the bill."

Mr Barnes pointed out that the visit was an invitation from the Government.

However, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said today: "Andy Trotter, [the officer in charge of policing the event] said last week that this was standard policing for London and would be paid for by the Met and from their own budget. Clearly, if there are issues that need to be discussed, they can be discussed.

"They have said this was part and parcel of their policing arrangements. The visit is not unexpected."

Insiders say the cost of deploying thousands of officers on the streets, as well as specialist firearms and other units, will amount to more than any single policing event in London this year.

Security services and police are now on the second-highest level of alert amid fears that terrorist groups such as al Qaeda or even a lone fanatic could exploit the visit, which begins tomorrow, to launch an attack.

Anti-terrorist officers have "planned for every eventuality", from suicide bombers to a plane hijack, or terrorists using speedboats packed with explosives to blow up a target such as the Houses of Parliament.

One senior officer said: "We have got three major challenges - looking after the security of the President, policing the radical elements who might hijack the protests and just keeping London running smoothly."

Anti-Bush campaigners are meeting the Met today in a bid to avoid any violent stand-offs during Thursday's protest march in the capital. Tens of thousands are expected to take part but a dispute over the route remains unresolved, leading to concern that demonstrators could try to force their way through police lines.

The Stop The War Coalition argues that people should have the right to march past Parliament and along Whitehall - the symbols of British democracy. But Scotland Yard wants to restrict the march to the Strand and Trafalgar Square.