The choice of West Ham United to take over the running of the Olympic Stadium after 2012 was not influenced by the fact that an employee of the body that made the decision had carried out paid consultancy work for the club. This is the conclusion of an investigation commissioned by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) from Moor Stephens, a firm of auditors.
The choice of West Ham United to take over the running of the Olympic Stadium after 2012 was not influenced by the fact that an employee of the body that made the decision had carried out paid consultancy work for the club. This is the conclusion of an investigation commissioned by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) from Moor Stephens, a firm of auditors.
Dionne Knight, the OPLC’s corporate services director, had declared a personal relationship with West Ham director Ian Tompkins. She was suspended on full pay after it emerged that she had worked for West Ham during its bid to become the stadium’s anchor tenant.
Moore Stephens concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that Ms Knight had access to confidential information about the stadium bidding process, had passed on any information to West Ham or to a third party, or had influenced the outcome. The bidding process was based at Eversheds, the OPLC’s lawyers, and no one else had access to the bidding documents.
West Ham’s progress towards taking over the Olympic Stadium now depends on whether Tottenham Hotspur, their rivals for the anchor tenancy, win an application for a judicial review into the decision. Spurs have already had one judicial application rejected, but an oral hearing in the High Court is scheduled for Wednesday.