British MP says IOC must prove bid process clean
Posted: Wednesday December 16, 1998 11:38 AM
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Britain should not bid for the
Olympics until the International Olympic Committee (IOC) proved
the bidding process was free of corruption, a member of
parliament said on Wednesday.
Graham Stringer, leader of Manchester city council during
two failed bids for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and now a member
of the lower house, told Reuters on Wednesday that he had tabled
a motion in parliament.
"It welcomes Hodler's statement," he said, referring to
senior IOC official Marc Hodler who rocked the Olympic movement
last week when he claimed that agents had been trying for a
decade to make cash for votes deals with bidding cities.
"The IOC has a moral obligation to prove to national
Olympic committees, participating countries and bidding cities
that the procedures they go through are non-corrupt, honest,
fair and objective," he said.
Stringer said British cities should not bid until the
British Olympic Association (BOA) and the government were
convinced action had been taken by the IOC.
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch said on Sunday the
organization would expel any members found guilty of corruption.
An IOC committee is investigating accusations of payments made
in Salt Lake City's successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games.
Stringer said he had first hand experience of the behavior
of some IOC members from his time at Manchester city council.
He said two IOC members, from different parts of the world,
had tried to make money out of their visits.
Stringer said one had sought 12,000 pounds (US$20,170)
reimbursement for money allegedly stolen from his hotel room.
"When we said we would get the police (to investigate the
theft), he did not seem keen."
Stringer said he had not personally conducted the
negotiations but was aware of them. There was no question of any
reimbursement being paid, he added.
"It was merely a way of asking for cash."
He said another member had his air fare paid by Manchester
when he had also had it paid by the IOC. "It took some time to
get the money back," he said.
Stringer insisted that Manchester had been scrupulous in
following IOC guidelines on gifts to members.
London, venue of the 1948 Games, announced last summer that
it will not join the race to host the 2008 Olympics.
An early day motion of the kind tabled by Stringer is a
means for parliamentarians to express their views on an issue.
They have little chance of progress in the house unless
officially taken up by the government.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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