Taxpayers look set to pick up a policing bill of around £500,000 for the Bilderberg Group meeting in Watford last week.

Hertfordshire Constabulary revealed today that the overall cost of the operation was around £1 million and the Bilderberg Group has made a donation of £500,000.

Watford Observer:

Although, the force said it was still totting up the exact cost of the huge security operation around the three-day conference at The Grove and the protests it attracted.

Scores of officers from 12 forces were drafted for the operations, which involved roads being closed with anti-terror legislation and a no-fly zone being imposed over the area.

The conference saw Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor George Osborne and shadow chancellor Ed Balls attend along with other global figures such as IMF chief Christine Lagarde and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Watford Observer:

Leading business figures were also represented with Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Peter Sutherland, the chairman of Goldman Sachs, and figures from Barclays and HSBC were also present.

The three-day protest around the conference passed off peacefully with police making only two arrests throughout.

It is still unclear what proportion of the policing costs, if any, will be shouldered by the constabulary as it is currently in negotiations with the Home Office over an emergency grant for Bilderberg.

At a meeting before the conference senior offices expressed confidence that the operation would be "cost neutral" for Hertfordshire taxpayers.

Residents of Hertfordshire directly fund the force with 10p of every tax pound collected in the county going to the constabulary.