09 March 2007
The government's failure to produce comprehensive estimates of the full cost of London's 2012 Olympics is 'a recipe for an open-ended cheque book', an influential MP has warned.
Edward Leigh, who chairs the Commons' Public Accounts Committee, told key personnel involved in the Olympics project that it was 'ridiculous' that they had not yet finalised a detailed estimate.
Leigh's criticism, voiced at the PAC's first public meeting on the Olympics, followed reports that the cost of the Games could rise from an initial £2.35bn to £9bn.
Jonathan Stephens, permanent secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the primary department responsible for the Olympics, said that a full estimate was due 'soon' because it was 'recognised as urgent'.
However, Stephens added that he did not know exactly when work on a full estimate would be completed. Recent reports indicated that the government has delayed the release of the assessment until the summer.
The PAC is worried that the costs of the project are rising rapidly. The MPs cited concerns that contractors would be alerted to the potential to raise costs by a Treasury 'contingency' budget of £2bn for the project.
However, David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, reminded MPs that the programme, which will regenerate large parts of east London, was 'the largest-ever event occurring in the world outside of a reasonably-sized war'.
PFmar2007
