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London 2012 Olympics: Judicial review over stadium

By Adrian Warner & Kurt Barling BBC News, London
Olympic Stadiumhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12909326
 
West Ham's bid defeated Spurs in the race for the Olympic Stadium
Tottenham Hotspur are taking Olympic chiefs to court over the decision to hand the 2012 stadium to West Ham after the Games, the BBC has learned.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which chose West Ham ahead of Spurs last month, confirmed Tottenham are pressing ahead with a judicial review.
Tottenham informed the OPLC of its decision this week, as construction on the Olympic Stadium was completed.
A spokesman for London's mayor defended the stadium bidding process.
Tottenham have sought the review to challenge the process the OPLC followed in making its decision to choose West Ham as its preferred bidder for the stadium.
An OPLC spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a letter before action in relation to potential judicial review proceedings has been issued.
"The Olympic Park Legacy Company ran a very rigorous and transparent process in its selection of the recommended preferred bidder.
"We have been supported by independent experts in their field in terms of legal, financial, commercial and technical advice."
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The spokeswoman added: "We have been consistent, fair, objective and entirely equal in our dealings with the bidders from start to finish.
"We are confident that if these judicial review proceedings are pursued, our approach will be entirely vindicated by the courts."
The UK government and the office of the mayor of London are joint owners of the OPLC and will both be involved in the court action.
They have four weeks to respond to the letter in writing, then Tottenham must decide whether to go ahead with the action by serving papers to the High Court.
The office of London Mayor Boris Johnson confirmed he had received a letter confirming Tottenham's action.
A City Hall spokesman said: "We are advised and believe that the decision to choose West Ham as the preferred bidder was properly taken."
Judicial reviews allow bodies to challenge decisions on grounds of illegality, irrationality and unfairness.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12909326

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