Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Lord Mawhinney Excerpts

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

My Lords, I should never believe everything you read in the media. We are confident. In the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, who chairs the legacy company,

“We are confident that this represents the very best legacy for the Stadium—it’s good for the community of East London … for Londoners … for the UK taxpayer and it’s a good outcome for sport”.

Within the bid, there will be constraints on how the stadium can be used.

[Lord Mawhinney]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that it would be a weak and cowardly decision to reverse what the legacy organisation has already decided as far as the Olympics are concerned? Does she take seriously the point made by my noble friend Lord Higgins that this country would never again in the foreseeable future win the right to host any international sporting event if it was proved in this case that our word was not our bond?