06 June 2003
Ministers and public bodies have acted quickly and efficiently to correct past failures and put the £771m project to build a national football stadium at Wembley back on track, auditors claimed this week.
Although the National Audit Office berates the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, lottery funding body Sport England and the Football Association for cost escalations and delays prior to 2001, the watchdog now believes 'appropriate steps' have been taken 'to protect the public interest'.
More than £160m of public cash has been used to underpin the deal. This included a controversial £120m 'upfront' payment from Sport England to the FA to buy the land, even though there was no guarantee at the time that the project would go ahead.
But Sir John Bourn, auditor general, claimed the project since 2001 has become 'an example of well-managed risk-taking'.
The NAO report, published on June 5, is the third major study of the project, which will not be completed until 2006. The other two were far more damning.
This is likely to raise suspicion that departmental pressure may have come to bear on the NAO. The government has just announced it will bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and is attempting to prove to the world it can co-ordinate major sporting projects successfully.
The NAO denied that it had been placed under pressure to put a positive spin on the project.
A spokesman said: 'Our report recognises the failures that took place prior to 2001 – we haven't shied away from them. But we also had to look at what has happened post-2001 and the feeling was that lessons have been learned and that good progress has since been made.'
PFjun2003
