Mayoral and LLDC responses to Information Commissioner’s demand to publish full terms of Olympic Stadium deal
Prior to the Mayor’s question time at the Greater London Assembly on 16th. September, 2015, Andrew Dismore (Labour & Co-operative) and Jenny Jones (Green Party) had submitted written questions on the Olympic Stadium. Following considerable disruption inside the Assembly chamber deriving from other matters, the Mayor gave somewhat convoluted replies, in essence advocating public knowledge of the agreement between the LLDC and West Ham United FC.
1) Later the same day, a press release from the informal grouping of supporters’ trusts read:
“The coalition of supporters’ trusts notes the response of Boris Johnson at Mayor’s Question Time to the Information Commissioner’s order to disclose in full the terms of the deal granted to West Ham United FC.
Whilst we are pleased at the Mayor’s response, we note that, as he is no longer chair of the LLDC, we need to await their official response, and that of other parties to this.”
2) On 1st. October, 2015, the following, perhaps predictable, statement was issued by the LLDC in response to the Information Commissioner’s judgement:
“We are lodging an appeal against the Information Commissioner’s judgment. This follows careful consideration, informed by legal advice, and is limited to a smaller number of redactions. The appeal relates only to information which if released could significantly reduce the level of financial return to the taxpayer as it would undermine negotiations with future users of the stadium and other partners. We have listened to the Commissioner’s comments and as a public body are committed to maximising transparency. As a result we will shortly publish more details of the agreement with West Ham United in all areas that fall outside the scope of our appeal.”
The deadline for any formal appeal by the LLDC to the ICO will be next Thursday, 8th. October, 2015.
3) Notes:
(i) Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, resigned as Chairman and as a member of the London Legacy Development Corporation Board on 5th. May 2015.
(ii) Full details of the Information Commissioner’s decision may be found in:
(iii) Further media reaction to the Information Commissioner’s decision and the Mayoral response may be found in:
4) The coalition of supporters’ trusts will meet on 6th. October, 2015. In the interim, we await further media comment on the LLDC’s statement released earlier today.
