Lack of Olympics council tax cap simply beggars belief

2.33.21pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 25th Oct 2005

Responding to the comments made by Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, that the Government will not put a cap on the amount of money that London's taxpayers could face if the Olympic costs overrun, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Olympics spokesperson, Dee Doocey said:-

"It is deeply concerning that just months after the capital won the chance to host the Olympics in 2012, Ministers are already warning Londoners that they could be paying substantially more than they promised.

"It would be almost understandable if we were two or three years down the line from the announcement that we were successful in our bid, but coming so soon after winning simply beggars belief.

"Why are Ministers now sounding so pessimistic about whether the Games will be delivered on time and on budget? What do Ministers know that we don't? Londoners deserve an answer since they are set to bear a lot of the costs."