Region left 'short-changed' over state visit costs

A police force will need to pick up costs for state visits in Windsor despite repeated calls for more government help, a police boss has said.

The Thames Valley's police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber said the region was being "short-changed" and the visits were a "significant drain on resources".

In March, he said Thames Valley Police (TVP) would not be paid £900,000 for costs it incurred during Donald Trump's visit to Windsor Castle in September 2025. The Sultan of Oman is due to visit the King next month.

The Home Office said it had reimbursed TVP for "additional police costs" for previous visits and would do so for others in the future.

Barber said paying for the cost of officers' time during the visits was an "area of concern" for TVP at a time when there were "significant pressures coming down the track".

This financial year it needed to save £4.9m and anticipated that over the next four years, it would need to plug an annual gap of about £15m.

"So far the response from the Home Office has been that they won't provide additional funding [for the visits]," Barber said.

"I'm like a dog with a bone. I won't be letting that one go."

Wokingham councillor Stephen Newton told Barber during a meeting of the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel on Friday that the lack of funding was "absolutely disgraceful".

"Residents of the Thames Valley are picking up the costs for the country and for the government and I think that's an appalling situation," he added.

Barber said the force could not cut the cover it provided, given its importance during state visits.

"The reality is that if we were to say we're not going to provide policing for a state visit in Windsor, it would not just be the King and his guests who might face more risk," he said.

"It might be the good people of Windsor and visitors to the town because we might well be providing that extra protection for them."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "TVP has been reimbursed for additional police costs associated with previous state visits and will receive reimbursement for costs linked to future state visits at Windsor Castle.

"We have long standing arrangements in place with the police to ensure state visits are run safely and securely, while regular policing continues across communities."