Sir, London is very proud to be hosting the 2012 Games (letters, Nov 23) and we are determined to make them a success, and to embrace this lifetime opportunity to showcase all our great city has to offer.

However, that does not mean that Londoners should pick up any more liability, now that the deal sold to us appears a gross underestimate.

Whatever the eventual cost, Londoners are already paying their fair share towards staging these Games. London Councils has consistently argued that the amount London council taxpayers are already paying must be capped and time limited.

Despite common perceptions, London is not awash with money. Three of the five most deprived areas in the country are in London and the capital has more unemployed people than Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland put together. Most capital cities are a drain on national resources, but London is the economic driver of the nation.

Any attempt to saddle Londoners with a greater financial burden puts at risk the widespread support and commitment the 2012 Olympic Games currently enjoys.

CLLR MERRICK COCKELL
Chairman, London Councils

Sir, It’s so easy for a politician to make bold promises and not deliver. The only people who will profit are the Londoners who benefit from infrastructure and increased property values, living within proximity of the Olympic village.

We, as taxpayers, will end up picking up the bill. What benefit are we going to get in the regions?

This will be a case of more of the national cake being swallowed up by the South East coupled with Lottery funds diverted from other much needier causes.

STEVE MARCHANT
Torquay

Sir, The real losers from the inevitable Olympic Games overspend will be areas of the country like the South West whence scarce government and lottery resources are already being diverted to feed the leviathan in the South East.

Our road, rail and sporting facilities hereabouts have already suffered, hospital wards and care homes are closing. Try finding an NHS dentist with an open list in Devon! I thought the state existed to iron out equalities, not to accentuate them by grossly extravagant status projects of little interest to those who are least able to afford to pay for them.

I think that Britain ought to host the Olympic Games, but building what is effectively a new model city in East London goes far beyond what is required.

RICHARD GILES
Exmouth

Sir, The NHS deficit is more than £500 million. Jobs have been cut, operations delayed and wards closed. The estimated cost of the Olympics jumps by £900 million in just a year. This is folly on the grandest scale by the people who brought us the Millennium Dome.

DAVID JOSEPHS
Harpenden, Herts

Sir, In February last year you published my letter saying that most Londoners would not enjoy paying for Mr Livingstone’s games. After the initial foolish frenzy, it seems many Londoners now agree with me.

My next prediction is that, given that those in charge don’t seem to know the difference between two billion and six, or between six billion and eight, and that their justifications to us are based on bogus sound-bites, the cost of these Olympics to the nation will actually be £12 billion or more. I will offer good odds on this bet, and am prepared to put my money where my mouth is; indeed, as a Londoner, it seems I shall be forced to.

ANDREW ROE
London W6

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