Removal of Brain Haw from Parliament Square costs 4 times more than Police Authority told

4.42.38pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 13th Jul 2007

It was today revealed that the cost of removing peace protester Brian Haw from Parliament Square was four times higher than first thought. Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair initially told the Metropolitan Police Authority in May the operation cost £7,000, and then apparently in a private session admitted the bill was actually £27,000 .

But new figures being presented to the MPA's Finance Committee next week show that the actual bill was £111,000 - over four times higher.

Graham Tope, Liberal Democrat spokesman for Policing on the London Assembly said:

"The Brian Haw fiasco was an expensive embarrassment for the Met. There should be an internal investigation into how this operation went so badly wrong and ended up costing Londoners 4 times the original bill.

"I welcome Gordon Brown's announcement last week that the ban of demonstrations around parliament is to be reviewed. The sooner we get rid of this ridiculous legislation the better. This will allow the police to get on with their real work and give back to the public their right to protest in London."