cost of David Cameron’s war on Colonel Gaddafi was laid bare yesterday.

cost of David Cameron’s war on Colonel Gaddafi was laid bare yesterday.

Taxpayers face a bill of around £3million a day for Britain’s part in the offensive against Libya.

And a US think-tank has put the cost of destroying Gaddafi’s military machine at nearly £500million.

The figures were revealed as Downing Street became embroiled yesterday in an extraordinary row with military leaders on targeting Gaddafi.

The Government claimed he was now a legitimate target for the allied air strikes – but the Chief of Defence Staff Gen David Richards strongly refuted those claims.

With the PM at loggerheads with military top brass after pushing for the Libyan tyrant to be taken out, there was a risk the fragile international coalition could be wrecked.

And the division between our political leaders and war commanders comes as the costs spiral.

That is partly due to the price of our cruise missiles, which can be fired at long distances to take out crucial air defence systems.

Defence expert Francis Tusa said yesterday Britain pays around £1.5million for a pair of air-launched Storm Shadow bombs.

Each sea-launched Tomahawk sets us back about £900,000 a throw. And Mr Tusa, editor of Defence Analysis, said Tornado jets cost £40,000 to be in the air for an hour.

The Royal Navy is also splashing out about £2million a week to station Britain’s warships and subs in the Mediterranean.

Despite the growing expense, Mr Cameron – who has introduced a wave of defence cuts – yesterday refused to even say when it would be mission accomplished in Libya.