More than £500,000 of taxpayers' money has now been spent by County Hall as it fights against being abolished by the Government – and that sum could rise even higher.

The Times & Citizen has learned Bedfordshire County Council has spent £543,270 on bidding for unitary status, after seeing confidential emails sent by councillors.

That figure includes an estimated £75,000 the authority is believed to have set aside for an ongoing judicial review, challenging the Government's original decision in the High Court.

But the money does not include staff costs, or any costs which will be incurred if the council loses the judicial review.

Coun John Mingay (Con, Newnham) claimed the spending had become folly.

He said: "We all knew that the unitary process would cost money, and no one objected to that.

"But surely the time has come that we should stop this haemorrhaging of taxpayers' hard-earned cash, particularly at a time of recession.

"The council was right to look at becoming a unitary authority. But £500,000? God almighty!"

Two weeks ago the Times & Citizen asked the council how much had been spent on its unitary bid but the council was unable to offer a figure.

Coun Madeline Russell, leader of Bedfordshire Council Council, said: "The half a million pounds figure has been in the public domain for some weeks now, and is actually less than 0.1 per cent of the County Council's total budget.

"As we said at the time, the way the Government has dragged its heals through unitary in Bedfordshire, and made a mess of the process, all the authorities concerned have incurred extra costs. However the extra spending is a drop in the ocean compared with the huge costs and debt associated with two unitaries.

"A single, countywide unitary would be a cheaper, more efficient option and would also protect services. That is the real bottom line for us."