GORDON Brown's decision to bring his entire Cabinet to the Westcountry cost the taxpayer more than £50,000, the Western Morning News can reveal.

Almost every senior minister descended on Exeter, and other Labour seats in the region, as part of the Prime Minister's series of regional Cabinet get-togethers.

But with Devon and Cornwall Police unable to say how much it cost for them to provide security for the event, held at Exeter Racecourse last month, the total bill could be as high as £200,000.

The visit attracted particular controversy when it emerged Labour's deputy leader Harriet Harman used the taxpayer-funded trip to plot election strategy with party officials and unions.

Critics last night claimed the taxpayer had picked up the bill for "partisan electioneering".

The Cabinet Office said the event, on February 5, was "linked with a number of ministerial visits across the region".

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The total cost of a "public engagement event followed by a formal Cabinet meeting" was £51,964, excluding VAT, it emerged following a Freedom of Information request by the WMN.

The figure includes "the cost of hiring the venue, catering, associated security and search equipment, delegate management and rail travel for both staff and ministers". However, it does not include costs incurred by other government departments for "staff time and other support".

The Cabinet Office said the "cost of any security provided by the police is a matter for the relevant police force".

But in response to a separate request, Devon and Cornwall police said they "do not hold a total cost for policing the specified event" because "any costs that relate to the specific event will be embedded in many different budget codes".

When a similar Cabinet event was held in Leeds, West Yorkshire Police revealed the cost of providing security at the event reached £137,719.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell, who has asked Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell to investigate Ms Harman's attendance at the event in Exeter, said: "It seems to me to be £52,000 spent on partisan electioneering rather than actually improving services in the Westcountry."

East Devon Tory MP Hugo Swire yesterday tabled a number of parliamentary questions about the Exeter event, demanding a breakdown of travel costs of ministers and which Labour party officials Ms Harman met.

Mr Swire said: "It is always nice to have the Prime Minister down in our part of the world. It is nice that he discovered where Exeter is in the dying days of this government."

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This is a massive bill for a meeting and political posturing seems to have been put ahead of what is best for taxpayers."

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "The Government has worked hard at each event to keep event costs to a minimum. The purpose of the Cabinet meeting in Exeter was to hear the views of people in the South West.

"We believe this is a worthwhile investment to support local engagement in our national political debate."