Comment: Should we really be expected to pay for this shady shindig?

Depending on your point of view, the visit will merely allow a collection of rich and influential people to congregate at the exclusive venue for a conflab or it will be the latest shadowy convening of the real world government.

According to its website, The Bilderberg Group has been meeting annually since the 1950s and provides an “off the record” event where its delegates can discuss issues of the day frankly.

Hence there are no minutes or records published about what goes on there. Its official list of guests includes some of the most powerful people on the planet. 

Among previous attendees are CEOs from global companies such as Google, Barclays and Goldman Sachs as well as government ministers (George Osborne, Ken Clarke and Peter Mandelson have all attended) along with prominent academics and journalists.

Bilderberg understandably draws criticism for activists who argue the organisation and its lack of transparency undermines open democratic institutions. As such, its meetings have attracted a growing number of protestors in recent years.

In lieu of any concrete information, myriad theories abound about what the group actually does.

A quick Google of ‘Bilderberg’ will throw up all sorts of hypotheses; from reasoned speculation to the outlandish and deranged.

The organisation’s secrecy and the noisy opposition it attracts make its imminent appearance in the town a bamboozling prospect for people in Watford.

Yet the strangest thing about this affair for residents of Hertfordshire is the uncharacteristic silence emanating from the county’s police commissioner.

Since his election, David Lloyd has been indefatigable in his efforts to court attention. Press releases have been regularly issuing from his office letting us know about everything from his ruminations on national crime and justice developments to his blue-sky schemes to make offenders pay for their stay in the cells.

To give him his due, Mr Lloyd has also been equally willing to speak on less accommodating issues. This paper has been able to grill him on his cuts to police officer numbers and the Twitter farrago involving his erstwhile deputy police commissioner.

However, when we tried to contact him last week about the police operation surrounding the Bilderberg meeting he was uncharacteristically unreachable. Instead, we were later contacted by his press officer who told us he would not be commenting.

The reason proffered was that the Bilderberg situation was an “operational” matter and did not fall under Mr Lloyd’s remit, which is to see to the “strategic” side of Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Bureaucratic hair-splitting aside, this is a matter on which Hertfordshire taxpayers would reasonably expect to hear from their police commissioner.

Residents pay 10p in every Council Tax pound directly to Hertfordshire Constabulary, which appears to be gearing up for sizeable (and ostensibly costly) security operation around the summit.

Legitimate questions include what the cost will be to the constabulary’s already stretched finances?

Will the Bilderberg Group be paying towards the operation? Because at a time when Hertfordshire Constabulary is axing officers and staff, it looks like it can ill-afford to foot the security bill for this expensive shindig.

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here