The former boss of the 2012 Olympics has snubbed a request from the London Assembly to explain his fears about the project's rising costs. The assembly invited Jack Lemley who resigned as chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) last month, to a meeting yesterday (Wednesday). But Mr Lemley, who is based in America, wrote back saying he would not be able to attend as he was busy on new projects, and could not speak on the ODA's behalf. Assembly members wanted to ask Mr Lemley about an interview he gave to the Idaho Statesman newspaper last month, when he said: ‘I think there is going to be a huge difficulty in the completion, both in terms of time and money.' ODA chief executive, David Higgins, will be at the meeting instead, which took place after The MJ went to press. Enfield LBC leader, Mike Rye, has condemned the news that Olympic organisers will have to pay an estimated £1bn on VAT for building and staging the games. ‘I cannot see how this project can now possibly stay in budget,' he said.
