-Caveat Lector-
From
http://www.guardian.co.uk/wembley/article/0,2763,602957,00.html
}}}>Begin
Smith and the great £120m football scam
Minister's bizarre role in Wembley fiasco exposed
Vivek Chaudhary, sports correspondent
Wednesday November 21, 2001
The Guardian
The government's handling of the Wembley stadium project was
yesterday exposed as a scandalous waste of public money,
marred by a series of blunders and unaccountable deals between
ministers and sports officials that led to millions of pounds of
lottery money being paid to the Football Association, one of the
richest sports bodies in the country.
The report by the culture, media and sport select committee is
damning of Sport England, the government quango which
distributes sports lottery money, for giving the FA £120m towards
the cost of constructing Wembley in January 1999. This was a
"cavalier and egregious use of public funds".
And it is particularly critical of former culture, media and sport
secretary Chris Smith for the way he conducted a deal with
Chelsea chairman Ken Bates over the handing back of £20m of
lottery money once it was decided t
hat Wembley would be for football only and would not host athletics.
The report claims this deal represented a "scandalously inept treatment of public
money" and criticises the FA for failing to pay the money back, claiming that it has a
moral obligation to do so.
The curious meeting between Mr Smith and Mr Bates took place on the morning of
December 22 1999 at the then cabinet minister's home in Islington. This was despite
repeated warnings from officials that Mr Smith should not
see Mr Bates - the then chairman of the FA's Wembley project - in these circumstances.
No civil servant was present and a private secretary who arrived late took only
limited minutes. Mr Smith and Mr Bates agreed on a handshake that the FA would hand
back £20m. The government is still waiting for its money.
MPs asked for the minutes of the meeting but were refused by the Department of
Culture, Media and Sport.
In a further twist it emerged yesterday that at the same meeting, Mr Smith had gone
along with Mr Bates' request that the FA be given the naming rights to the new
stadium. This is potentially worth millions of pounds be
cause it could be sold on to a sponsor. The news of this deal only emerged six months
later.
The report is also critical of the way government and sports officials handled the
Picketts Lock stadium project. A new national athletics stadium was supposed to be
constructed at the site in north-east London in time fo
r the 2005 world athletics championships but was abandoned last month by the
government following funding problems, making Britain a laughing stock within the
international sporting community.
Despite being chosen in October 1996 as the site for a new national stadium,
construction has yet to begin at Wembley and the FA has still not decided whether it
will go ahead after the project ran into financial problems
. The country still does not have a national football or athletics stadium.
The select committee, led by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman recommends that the whole fiasco
be investigated by the national audit office.
Mr Smith yesterday criticised the report's findings. He said: "I cannot agree with the
select committee's analysis of events. I think it's particularly sad that this
intemperate report ignores the very real advantages for
British athletics which could have been secured by the Picketts Lock stadium and a
successful world championships in 2005."
Mr Bates was not available for comment, while the FA also refused
to comment.
Trevor Brooking, chairman of Sport England, criticised Mr Smith
claiming that he had been acting outside his powers. He said: "On
December 13 1999 our chief executive wrote to the permanent
secretary at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport warning of
the risk of the government acting outside its powers and beyond
the secretary of state's responsibilities... However, we totally reject
the suggestion that our £120m grant to Wembley was premature
and cavalier. Before awarding the grant to Wembley, we undertook
extensive consultations, sought legal and financial advice and put
in place a lottery funding agreement to protect this award of public
money."
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001
End<{{{
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without charge or profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe
simply because it has been handed down for many generations. Do not
believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do
not believe in anything simply because it is written in Holy Scriptures. Do not
believe in anything merely on the authority of Teachers, elders or wise men.
Believe only after careful observation and analysis, when you find that it
agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all.
Then accept it and live up to it."
The Buddha on Belief, from the Kalama Sutta
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
A merely fallen enemy may rise again, but the reconciled
one is truly vanquished. -Johann Christoph Schiller,
German Writer (1759-1805)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that
prevents us from living freely and nobly. -Bertrand Russell
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Everyone has the right...to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless
of frontiers."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will
teach you to keep your mouth shut."
--- Ernest Hemingway
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
