OLYMPIC BID NEEDS STRONG LEADERSHIP - DUNCAN BORROWMAN

5.02.52pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 15th May 2003

Welcoming the Government's announcement that it is backing a London Olympic bid, the Liberal Democrat Greater London Assembly Prospective candidate for Bexley & Bromley, Duncan Borrowman said it is now time strong leadership is shown by the Mayor to ensure that London wins.

Duncan Borrowman, said: "I strongly support the bid. But the bid's strongest champion now has to be the Mayor. He should have already taken steps to ensure that when this announcement was made, London was ready to jump into action. He should already have got London's business communities onboard to drive the bidding process. They stand to gain millions from a successful outcome. He should also have insisted that the private sector contributed towards the cost of mounting the games. The Mayor's draft London Plan only briefly mentions the Olympics and now needs rewriting. There has to be a strategic approach to mounting a bid with more research into the transport, land and environmental issues relating to a bid. Any proposed development must be long-term and for the benefit of Londoners. For example, the Olympic village could provide thousands of much needed affordable homes for the capital."

Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat candidate for London mayor, added:

"Hosting the Olympics in 2012 will create a generation of home grown sports stars. It will boost business and tourism and will present a once in a lifetime opportunity for regeneration. We must now focus on the bid and make it the best in the world."