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G20's dinner bill comes to £500,000
Kiran Randhawa7 May 2009
The bill for wining and dining world leaders at the G20 summit came to £500,000, new figures reveal today.
More than £435,000 of taxpayers' money was spent on the day of the conference to cater for the 800 officials, 200 VIPs and other staff such as security workers and interpreters.
The sum also includes the cost of a series of events the day before the guests discussed how to tackle the global economic crisis.
Dinners for the dignitaries, their partners and their aides on the eve of the summit cost more than £66,000, and they consumed 136 bottles of wine worth £6,000 - about £140 each.
This included a banquet, catered by Jamie Oliver, for the leaders and their partners - including US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle - at No10 and No11 Downing Street.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said: "The picture of the world leaders enjoying fine wine and great food, while thousands of people are worried about their jobs and homes, is not a good one."
Reader views (14)
Oh please, quit all the fake, self-righteous indignant outrage.
We hosted the world's most important leaders for days on end - along with all their enormous entourages - what did you all think they were going to be fed, beans on toast?
How would it have gone down if all our people had gone abroad and been 'treated' to egg and chips and orange squash? We'd then have all these same people bleating here, only then being outraged at our country being 'insulted'.
Good hospitality is a basic courtesy, the same as if you eat plain food yourself every day of the week and then cook something special when you invite your friends over.
We do hundreds of billions of pounds worth of trade with these nations, the bill for a rare few days of luxury catering, at a few hundred quid a head, is the least of our worries...
- John T, London, 08/05/2009 00:30
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Tax and spend/waste,that's all Labour knows!!
- Mark A, Warrington England, 07/05/2009 21:00
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And that was just for security!
- Mike, London England, 07/05/2009 16:43
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That would feed Britain’s pensioners well; instead of their normal meals on wheels in plastic bag dinners.
Why are the British Pensioners; the worst cared for and the worst paid; in the whole of the developed world; yet we feed the fat and greedy better, than all those other countries.
Don’t you just love new Labours Socialist conscience?
- Mickyinlondon, london, 07/05/2009 16:23
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The cost says it all about the decadent, failed state of western 'democratic' governments typified by the UK. The fat cat politicians, increasingly out of touch with the long-suffering public grinding on on minimum wage, gorge themselves while the world economy collapses-'fiddling while Rome burns' comes to mind. Time to elect some better suited leaders isn't it?
- Jon Kent, Hertford. UK, 07/05/2009 15:15
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Must have been a Gordon Ramsay menu at that price.
- Rosie, watford, 07/05/2009 14:29
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What a scandalous waste of money.
- Goggs, London, 07/05/2009 14:24
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Hell,it must be great being in goverment in the UK,with people afraid to protest and stand up for their rights.Millions ruled by a handfull,democracy at its best.
- David, london, 07/05/2009 14:19
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If they had found a solution to the economic problems we all have,maybe we could justify this amount,but they did not.
This money could have fed roughly 1 million starving children around the world for a week.
- David Nigel Braham, Milan Italy, 07/05/2009 13:56
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They could have used that money to put more police on the streets to reduce crime.
- Frank, Copenhagen, Denmark, 07/05/2009 12:57
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Let "MR WORLD SAVIOUR BROWN" pay for it. Wine £140.00 a bottle! Why should I help pay for this? As a pensioner I still pay tax but NOT for it be wasted on things like this.
- Frank, BONCATH, WALES, 07/05/2009 10:33
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Absolutely scandalous. The UK is totally bankrupt - yet Gormless Brown is very handy in spending Joe Public's cash on non-events.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe UK, 07/05/2009 10:15
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Is that all? Gordon must be economising, he usually throws much more public money at these kind of jollies.
- Bob, Cheam, 07/05/2009 09:52
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Gordon Brown ought to be made pay for this out of his own pocket as he arranged it in an effort to be seen as "saviour of the world". It was totally unnecessary to hold the conference in London - it could have been held via video link.
- R.F., Yorks, UK, 07/05/2009 09:22
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