The decision to hold cabinet meetings outside of London cost the taxpayer an estimated £200,000 per session.
Meetings in Birmingham and Leeds last year, and one in Liverpool on Thursday, could cost up to £600,000 in total, according to new figures.
West Yorkshire Police revealed that security alone for the Leeds cabinet meeting on November 28 cost £138,000.
The prime minister said that the first regional cabinet meeting last year was priced at £62,000 excluding the cost of security.
If West Yorkshire Police's security expenses are similar to those at the other two regional meetings, the total fee to the taxpayer could reach £600,000.
Gordon Brown decided that cabinet should meet at key sites across the country to reflect Labour's national priorities.
The last time that a cabinet meeting had been held outside of London before Brown's decision was 1921.
Yorkshire minister Rosie Winterton defended the prime minister's resolve to hold regional events.
She said of the Leeds event: "Hosting this event gave us the opportunity of getting the prime minister to Halifax and the chancellor to Bradford & Bingley to allow them to put forward the case for saving thousands of jobs in the region.
"People in Yorkshire should welcome the work we are doing in trying to safeguard jobs here."
She said: "We need the support of central government for that which is why bringing everyone to Leeds was a very worthwhile exercise."
But Robert Goodwill, shadow minister for Leeds, claimed that the cabinet meetings outside of London were "a bit of a gimmick".
He said: "The cost of hosting them given the increased security is something that should be borne by Labour rather than by the taxpayer.
"I can understand them wanting to show their presence in Yorkshire for political reasons. We did something similar in Bradford earlier last year, that is perfectly reasonable, but our event didn't cost anywhere near that much."
Mark Wallace of the Taxpayers' Alliance said: "This bill is unfair to put on local taxpayers, particularly when these meetings were just PR exercises to promote the government, rather than give local people real power."
