An independent report into the £40m loan made by Newham council to fund the London Stadium has criticised former Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales and his administration claiming they ignored warnings and financial advice that the London Stadium business was seriously flawed.

The report highlights that the final decision to invest £40 million of taxpayers money in March 2013 was flawed because it did not meet one of its self-imposed conditions for investment that a financial return of £3 million per annum, would be achieved.

Speaking at a meeting of full Council on Monday (July 16) Mayor Fiaz said: “The view we can draw from this report is this was ultimately £40 million down the drain. For me, the report helpfully tells us that concerns raised by financial advisors at the time – namely that a £3 million return on a £40 million investment was not achievable – were ignored.

“The vision for the stadium and the benefits it could provide was exciting, but the investment by Newham in 2013 was significantly flawed because not enough attention was paid to the detail when the final decision was made. The enthusiasm for the stadium’s potential far outweighed the scrutiny necessary into its limitations, which ultimately meant that the anticipated return in the £40 million investment could never have been met.”

The Independent report by Peter Oldham QC can be read in full at https://www.newham.gov.uk/Documents/Campaigns/ReviewOfAspectsOfLBNsInvestmentInE20StadiumLLP.pdf