NO BRONZE, NO SILVER, JUST GOLD

I hate to keep going on about it, but the ugly mess that is the Olympic funding has raised its expensive head again. The Sunday Telegraph leads with the headline “Cover up of £1bn hole in Britain’s Olympic bid”. Consultants warned government aids in September 2004 that the estimates that ministers were using to promote the bid (£3.4bn) were at least £1bn short of the mark. The figure to date has reached £9.4bn, so even the consultants were well short. Labour sources in both the Treasury and Culture Department have no defence for these errors, merely choosing to deflect attention by trying to portray opposition criticism as anti games and anti Britain. Such a pathetic attitude adds further weight to the accusation that if they can’t get the Olympic figures right, how the hell can they look after our money and get the economy right?

Talking of consultants, there has been a flurry of new companies registered at Companies House whose remit is to provide Olympic related services. What’s the bet that the directors of said companies include some very famous sporting names linked to officially appointed Olympic government posts? Though not running in 2012, I envisage Lord Coe emerging from the games covered in gold!