Donald Trump’s state visit cost Scotland Yard almost £3.5 million

Donald Trump’s state visit cost Scotland Yard almost £3.5 million

Scotland Yard spent almost £3.5 million policing Donald Trump’s first state visit to the UK, official figures show.

The US president was met by tens of thousands of protesters in the capital before he attended a D-Day commemoration service in Portsmouth.

President Trump’s state visit: policing costs
(PA Graphics)

The Met spent just under £3 million policing the president’s previous visit to the UK in 2018, although the total cost of that four-day trip came in at more than £14.2 million to forces across the UK.

Police kept the peace in London among supporters of the president and protesters during Mr Trump's visit (Gareth Fuller/PA)
Police kept the peace in London among supporters of the president and protesters (Gareth Fuller/PA)

A breakdown shows more than £800,000 was spent on overtime, £215,000 on infrastructure, £31,385 on fleet costs, £23,000 on hotels, £34,481 on catering and £41,000 on mutual aid.

President Trump state visit to UK – Day Two
A Trump supporter is escorted by police after being covered in milkshake at Parliament Square (PA)

Jeremy Corbyn addressed crowds of protesters from a stage in Whitehall during the second day of the president’s stay, while Mr Trump dismissed reports of demonstrations as “fake news”.

The protests, which saw the Donald Trump baby blimp and a 16ft talking robot of the president sitting on a gold toilet, failed to swell to the numbers seen the previous year.

The Donald Trump baby balloon went up in Parliament Square, London on the second day of the state visit to the UK by US President Donald Trump (David Mirzoeff/PA)
The Donald Trump baby balloon went up in Parliament Square (David Mirzoeff/PA)

Before Mr Trump’s visit, a Met spokeswoman said: “A very experienced command team is preparing the multi-faceted policing and security operation for the president’s visit and whilst the Met has a responsibility to ensure the right to lawful protest this needs to be balanced with the complex requirements of this policing plan.”

The data released by the force shows more than 6,300 police officers were deployed across the three-days of Mr Trump’s UK visit, with the majority on the streets during his two days in London.

On June 3, the day the president flew into Stansted Airport aboard Air Force One, there were 2,714 police – of rank between police officer and deputy assistant commissioner – on duty, as well as 14 other police staff.

The following day, which saw the largest of the protests, some 3,249 police officers were on duty along with 30 other police staff, the figures show.

There were 411 officers deployed in London as Mr Trump attended a D-Day event in Portsmouth, some 306 were in place on June 2, as the force prepared for the president’s arrival, while just 38 were on duty on June 6 as he visited Ireland.

Hampshire police deployed their own officers during his visit to the commemoration event at Portsmouth Naval Museum but would not have the final figures until later in the year.

A Garda spokesman said the costs of Mr Trump’s trip to Ireland, where he stayed at his Doonbeg hotel and golf resort in Co Clare, had yet to be finalised.

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