Police 'short changed' by £900k over Trump visit

Thames Valley Police was "short changed" by almost £1m for providing security during Donald Trump's state visit, a police and crime commissioner has said.

As the local force for Windsor Castle, the force was not able to claim back the costs of police time during the visit of the US president, as well as other major events centred around the castle.

PCC Matthew Barber has written to the Home Office demanding a change to "flawed funding arrangements".

The Home Office said TVP would "receive additional costs" linked to the state visit.

The force was on high alert for the US president's trip to Windsor in September, where he and First Lady Melania Trump were hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

Its specialist search unit was deployed in the run up to the visit and its mounted section patrolled Windsor as part of the policing plan.

TVP has also provided policing for other state visits including that of President Emmanuel Macron of France in July, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's visit in December as well as the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

The force covers Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as Berkshire - and is part funded through the council tax of people in those three counties.

Barber said under current funding arrangements for major events, the Home Office meets additional costs, such as hire of equipment, but does not fund the actual cost of officer time for the police force where the event is hosted.

Officers are drafted in from other forces across the country to support these events, and those forces can reclaim the cost of their time.

However TVP is not allowed to make the same claim for police officer time, Barber added.

In a statement, he said the force had a "proud history" of policing moments of national importance but refurbishment work at Buckingham Palace meant more state visits were taking place in Berkshire.

He said that following the visit of Trump last year, known as Operation Liberty, TVP was unable to reclaim about £900,000.

"This means that not only are officers drawn away from other policing duties to ensure these large events pass off safely, but local council tax payers are also left short-changed as a result," he said.

In a statement, the Home Office said: "We and the police have long standing arrangements in place to ensure state visits are run safely and securely, while regular policing continues across communities.

"Thames Valley Police will receive additional costs linked to this state visit, and these will be recovered through standard major event procedures."

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