Government's Foreign Office wine cellar 'self-financing'

The government has ruled out shutting down its wine cellar to cut costs as it will be "self-financing" in the future.

The cellar - containing about £2m worth of wine and spirits - is the most "cost effective" way to supply wine for state banquets and other events according to Foreign Office minister Henry Bellingham.

The future of the wine cellar, which is run by the Foreign Office, has been under review for almost 11 months, to ensure it was "appropriate to the contemporary environment" - by providing value for money.