Why critics believe the cost of G8 outweighs its value

In all, 16,000 German police have been deployed to watch over the thousands of environmentalists, anti-poverty campaigners, and anarchists who are massing around the summit: water cannons were used for the first time yesterday afternoon, as police estimated that 10,000 protesters had reached the fence.

The German authorities estimate security spending alone will exceed £61 million but they may be getting off lightly compared to British taxpayers. Protecting the G8 summit at Gleneagles in 2005 cost the Scottish Executive £72 million. The meeting itself, from booking the hotel to feeding thousands of officials and journalists, cost the Foreign Office another £12.7 million.