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| Revised Olympic budget 'due soon' | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A revised budget for the 2012 Olympics will be announced "soon", a top civil servant has told MPs. | |
| Jonathan Stephens, Permanent Secretary of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, said the need for figures was "recognised... as urgent now". | |
| The comments, to the Commons culture committee, follow reports that the budget for the event could rise to £9bn - from an initial figure of £2.35bn | |
| Committee chairman Edward Leigh called the lack of a new figure "ridiculous". | |
| 'Open-ended' | |
| Mr Stephens told the MPs the review of the overall budget would be "thorough" and this was why the issue was "not yet resolved". | |
| He added: "What the government wants to provide is a final budget. | |
| "It will do so soon. I don't have a date. All I can say is soon." | |
| Mr Stephens also said: "Our aim in this is to keep costs strictly under control." | |
| Mr Leigh, a Conservative MP, said the situation was "a recipe for an open-ended cheque book". | |
| Last month, the BBC discovered that the Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport were discussing a price of £9bn - up from an initial figure of £2.35bn - for the Games. | |
| David Higgins, chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, told MPs the Games were the "largest ever event occurring in the world outside a reasonable-sized war". | |
| Earlier in the House of Commons, Conservatives accused Chancellor Gordon Brown of "incompetence" and "undermining the credibility" of the 2012 Olympics. | |
| Shadow Culture Secretary Hugo Swire said the chancellor had signed off a budget for the games which was now "two or three times" the original figure. | |
| And he had not produced "an extra penny" for elite athletes, he told MPs. | And he had not produced "an extra penny" for elite athletes, he told MPs. |
| But Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said there was "absolutely no substance" in the comments. | But Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell said there was "absolutely no substance" in the comments. |
| In last year's Budget, Mr Brown announced a £600m funding package for athlete training. | In last year's Budget, Mr Brown announced a £600m funding package for athlete training. |
| Lottery funding would supply £300m, with £200m of public money and £100m coming from private sector sponsorship, it was added. | Lottery funding would supply £300m, with £200m of public money and £100m coming from private sector sponsorship, it was added. |
| Mr Swire said the planned sponsorship of £100m had not materialised. | Mr Swire said the planned sponsorship of £100m had not materialised. |
| He asked Ms Jowell in the Commons: "What kind of progress is being made in these negotiations, or is it another case of press release politics?" | He asked Ms Jowell in the Commons: "What kind of progress is being made in these negotiations, or is it another case of press release politics?" |
| He also accused the chancellor of "contemplating another raid on the lottery to pay for his incompetence". | He also accused the chancellor of "contemplating another raid on the lottery to pay for his incompetence". |
| But Ms Jowell said: "The plan to raise money for elite sport from the private sector will be negotiated and will be in place when it is ready." | But Ms Jowell said: "The plan to raise money for elite sport from the private sector will be negotiated and will be in place when it is ready." |