Rising cost of Olympic Stadium result of former Mayor “taking his eye off the ball”

Responding to the announcement that the Mayor of London has ordered an inquiry into the finances of the Olympic Stadium, and reports that the cost of retractable seating has risen from an estimated £300,000 to £8 million, Labour London Assembly Member, Andrew Dismore AM, said:

 

“This is a staggering burden to place on taxpayers. It’s only a year ago that Boris Johnson promised both full transparency and that no more public money would be spent on this project. Londoners must now add the stupendous costs of retracting the seating to the other numerous poor deals for the taxpayer the West Ham contract contains.  This is yet another case of the former Mayor taking his eye of the ball and failing to scrutinise or appreciate the detail of the West Ham deal.

 

“Boris even went so far as boasting about the rental income from West Ham, which at £2.5 million per season, can now be seen to be a drop in the ocean when compared with the cost of retracting the seats. Londoners will rightly want to know how they ended up bearing the costs of the former Mayor’s disastrous negotiations. A full review is both welcome and entirely necessary.”

 

 

ENDS

 

Notes

  • Comments from Boris Johnson stating that no more public money would be spent on the project can be found here;
  • Andrew Dismore AM is the London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden
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