Boris gets the gold medal for bungling

£323m Olympic stadium scandal

BORIS Johnson was yesterday accused of costing taxpayers £323million by bungling the Olympic stadium conversion.

A probe found “a catalogue of errors” when the huge sum was used to make it a multi-purpose venue when he was London mayor.

Mr Johnson’s successor Sadiq Khan announced he will take full control of the

60,000-seat stadium, now West Ham United’s home, in a bid to fix the financial damage. But accountants Moore Stephens warned the £323million conversion costs would never be recovered. They said the decision to transform the stadium and sign an “onerous” contract with the soccer club was made on “incorrect estimates” and “insufficient appreciation” of risk. Mr Khan said the “staggering” findings revealed “bungled decision-making that has the previous mayor’s fingerprints all over it”. He claimed Mr Johnson “panicked” after legal challenges over a move by West Ham and Newham to take over the stadium and re-ran the bid with taxpayers paying almost all the bill.

Sources close to the Foreign Secretary blamed planning for the 2012 Games by mayor Ken Livingstone and Tony Blair.

One said: “Signing off on a stadium fit only for athletics was a massive error. The only option was conversion.”

West Ham, which pays £2.5million a year for its 99-year lease, said it “entered a fair and competitive tender process”.

BLAME GAMES Johnson, left, and mayor Khan