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London mayor Ken Livingstone has claimed he "ensnared" the Government into bidding for the 2012 Olympics.

Mr Livingstone told a mayoral hustings event in London that he didn't bid for the Games just because he fancied "three weeks of sport" in the capital.

He said the Olympics, which will cost at least £9.3bn to stage, was just a means of extracting funding for London from central Government.

"I didn't bid for the Olympics because I wanted three weeks of sport," he told an audience at St Martin in the Fields church in Trafalgar Square.

"I bid for the Olympics because it's the only way to get the billions of pounds out of the Government to develop the East End.

"It's exactly how I played it to ensnare the Government to put money into an area it has neglected for 30 years."

Earlier this week an influential group of MPs said it had "little confidence" the £9.3bn target would not be exceeded.

The Commons public accounts committee said the original estimate of just over £4bn was "entirely unrealistic" and accused ministers of succumbing to "wishful thinking" over the cost of the Games.

The mayor's comments came a week ahead of London Mayor polling day at an event organised by Christian groups at which the candidates were quizzed on issues of faith.

The latest polls suggest the race for city hall is neck and neck, with Mr Livingstone on 45%, Boris Johnson on 44% and Brian Paddick on 9%.

Copyright Press Association Ltd 2008, All Rights Reserved.

8:16am Thursday 24th April 2008

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