2012 chiefs hit back at Lemley criticism

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) London 2012 organisers have defended their ''strong start'' towards delivering the Games after criticism from Jack Lemley who quit as chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) last month.

American Lemley was quoted as saying in the Idaho Statesman newspaper that he resigned because of fears that political rows would delay projects and raise costs, so spoiling his reputation of being able to deliver projects on time and on budget.

''I went there to build things, not to sit and talk about it. So I felt it best to leave the post and come home,'' said the 71-year-old Lemley, who originally said he left to focus on his business interests in the United States.

''I felt it was better to come home now than face that in five or six years.'' However, the ODA and London Organising Commitee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) played down the impact of Lemley's comments today.

''Jack Lemley set out the reasons for his resignation when he left the Olympic Delivery Authority,'' an ODA spokesman said.

''This project has been defined by strong political co-operation from the outset and that remains the case.

''It is a strength of the project that we have been having a debate about long term legacy use of 2012 facilities now, rather than years in the future.

''That is what makes London 2012 unique. By any analysis we have made a strong start and hit all our major milestones.'' The International Olympic Committee (IOC) were encouraged by London's early progress during a two-day visit in April and last week the government said the IOC believed London was far ahead of any other host city at the a similar stage in the process.

''It's absolutety right and proper that we have the debate now on what will be the legacy for the next 100 years,'' a LOCOG spokeswoman told Reuters today.

''The time for debate is now and that's what we are doing...It's the first time an Olympics hosting city has had these debates so early in the project, nearly six years before the start of the Games.'' The future of the 80,000-seat Olympic stadium has provoked plenty of debate, especially after sports minister Richard Caborn said last month that Premier League football club West Ham United were in negotiations about moving there.

Olympic chiefs have said that the stadium would be retained as an athletics venue with a downsized capacity of 25,000.

''A football field is not compatible with an athletic stadium,'' Lemley was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

He also said relocating businesses from the Olympic Park site was proving difficult.

''Some of the people were happy to move and some of them weren't,'' Lemley said. ''In any event, there was a huge amount of local politics. Those are the kind of things that confuse and frustrate the process.'' Lemley was appointed chairman of the ODA in 2005.

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