My Olympics worries - Ex-2012 chief

The man charged with building the venues for the London 2012 Olympics says he quit because he feared the construction projects would be delivered late and over-budget.

American engineer Jack Lemley resigned as chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority on October 18 saying he wanted to spend more time on his US-based business. But Lemley has now claimed he feared local politics would interfere with building plans and has revealed his frustration with the pace of progress.

Lemley, 71, who has never before quit a construction project, told the Idaho Statesman: "I went there to build things, not to sit and talk about it, so I felt it best to leave the post and come home."

Lemley said he did not want his reputation of being able to deliver projects on time and on budget ruined.

"I felt it was better to come home now than face that in five or six years," he said.

He claimed disputes over the future of the stadium and with the 300 business who have to be relocated kept interfering with the ODA's plans. In terms of the stadium, Lemley was not happy with the Government's support for West Ham to take over the Olympic Stadium.

"A football field is not compatible with an athletic stadium," said Lemley, who was also stunned by the opposition of some of the businesses to moving away from the site in Stratford, east London.

He added: "Some of the people were happy to move, and some of them weren't. In any event, there was a huge amount of local politics. Those are the kind of things that confuse and frustrate the process."

Lemley led the construction of the Channel Tunnel from 1989 to 1993 but said he does not regret leaving London 2012.

He added: "I miss working on the project, but I don't have a rearview mirror. When I make a decision like that, I never look back."