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		Olympics: Hard numbers needed, not more ifs and buts Tuesday, 15th January 2008 Two and a half years on, and the government is still clueless Strasbourg, 15th January 2008 -- Despite having had the last two and a half years to prepare, the Government is still tying itself in knots over funding the 2012 Olympic games, Syed Kamall, Conservative MEP for London, said today. The Government had predicted that it would be able to recoup £1.8 billion from the cost of the Olympics by selling land at the East London site after the Games. But the London Development Agency is now predicting that, if land prices increase by 6% annually over the coming years, it may be possible to raise only £800 million - a billion pound shortfall. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will today vote for the first time against plans to give the Olympics more cash from the National Lottery. Mr Kamall said: "We all want the Olympics to be a success for London, but the inability to set out clear funding arrangements is marring the entire project. "Londoners want hard numbers on the cost of the Olympics, not more ifs and buts. "The Government should have had a comprehensive budget in place before it even launched its bid. Instead, it is scratching around here and there trying to find pots it can raid. "Ultimately, it is the London taxpayer who will have to pick up the tab from cost overruns, and Londoners deserve to know the truth about the final cost. "We must not allow this government's incompetence to make the London Olympics a financial burden rather than an event to be celebrated."