News Release

21st May 2002

"BIRMINGHAM LOOKS EXTREMELY REMOTE" FOR NATIONAL STADIUM SAYS SPORT ENGLAND

At a stormy meeting of the Culture Media & Sport Select Committee this morning in the House of Commons, David Moffet (Chief Executive of Sport England which gave £120 million to the Wembley Stadium) said the prospects for the National Stadium coming to Birmingham "looks extremely remote".

Michael Fabricant says: "This has come about because of the incompetent way Sport England gave £120 million to Wembley National Stadium Limited. WNSL is wholly owned by the Football Association yet Sport England asked for no guarantees from the FA in case the money has to be repaid. It would have to be repaid if the new Wembley Stadium project does not go ahead. As the land is not worth £120 million or anything like it, the FA has committed itself to an agreement to hold all major football events at Wembley for the next 20 years in the existing stadium if the worst comes to the worst in order to raise the revenue to return the £120 million. That agreement effectively blows Birmingham's chances out of the water; there will be no major football events to be held outside London under the agreement revealed today.

"In my view, Sport England should never have given public money to Wembley before first ensuring that it could be repaid. Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State who has had access to all these agreements, should have ensured this was the case. She should have blocked the agreement keeping football in London. Once again, the Midlands will lose out due to the inaction of this Government". Even David Moffet admitted in Committee regarding the relationship between Sport England and WNSL and the FA: "There have been deficiencies, putting it mildly".

"Why was the Secretary of State prepared to sit back and see £120 million of public money put at risk? I will now pursue this matter with her to try and get a fair deal for the public and for Birmingham when we interview her at noon on Thursday." adds Michael Fabricant.