Home News London Olympic bid short-listed - London Olympic bid short-listed - Written by Pete Wishart    Thursday, 20 May 2004 Pete Wishart MP Commenting on the short-listing of the London Olympic bid today [Tuesday], the Scottish National Party's Westminster Sports Spokesperson Mr Pete Wishart MP said: "Good luck to London in going for Olympic gold. But a successful London bid must not come at Scotland's expense. "It is already estimated that Scotland could lose 41.8 million pounds of National Lottery good causes money if London succeeds in hosting the 2012 Olympics, and that cannot be allowed to happen. The SNP are happy for London to host the Olympics, but the Government's policy for funding the Games must not become another example of Scotland pays, London gains." Mr Wishart had previously revealed that the Government are providing an unlimited funding guarantee for the 2012 London Games – which means that if the cost of the Olympics exceeded the planned 2.375 billion pounds BY ANY AMOUNT, the UK taxpayer would become liable for the entire overspend. The SNP have argued that the London city authorities should assume this financial responsibility – as the government of New South Wales did for the Sydney Olympics, as opposed to the government of all-Australia. Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 May 2004 )   < Prev   Next > [ Back ]