The Leader of the Christian Peoples Alliance group on the Olympics host borough, Newham Council, has criticised London Mayor Ken Livingstone and the local Mayor, Sir Robin Wales, for misleading East Londoners about the likely jobs boost. Councillor Alan Craig - who lives nearly a mile from the Olympics stadium in Canning Town - is pointing to a new study which has warned that the number of long-term jobs created for local people by the Olympics is likely to be far smaller than originally promised.

The study, by financial analysts Experian says thousands of permanent jobs for east Londoners are unlikely to materialise because of skills shortages and competition from outsiders. Instead, many roles will last weeks or months and 'the number of jobs is relatively small compared with the number of unemployed local people'.

Commenting on the analysis at a meeting of CPA Newham, Cllr Craig said:

"Yet again, the politicians have let down the people of London's East End. The Games are meant to be about urban renewal. But this report shows our Mayors have made cruel and unrealistic promises about prospects for work. In the run up to London winning the Olympics, residents were promised the tantalising prospect of new job opportunities. In 2003 Livingstone talked of 40,000 jobs (BBC reports Tuesday, 3 June, 2003) and now Experian have given the lie to that claim. Not only do the finances of the Olympics look shaky, the economic benefits are floundering as well."

The study, by financial analysts Experian, adds that while the Games will provide 'credibility' for other investment schemes, they cannot regenerate an area by themselves, despite £2.4 billion of public investment. According to Experian, the Games will provide:

* 60,000 'person years' of construction jobs between last year and 2012 - 10,000 fewer than promised.
* 30,000 jobs involved in staging the Games, mainly temporary.
* 6,700 jobs in retail, hotels, transport and entertainment, most lasting just for the Games.
* London 2012 has predicted 12,000 jobs would be created post-2012.

"In the run up to London winning the bid, estimates were dishonestly massaged and manipulated to rally support for the Olympics coming here. We face a huge challenge in Newham with some of the lowest employment rates of all the local authorities in the UK. My hope is that resources will be directed by the Government for more training and additional regeneration around the main site at Stratford. But the reality is that it will be skilled workers coming in from Eastern Europe who are poised to benefit the most."
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Editors' Notes:
(i) Check against delivery.

(ii) Contact: Cllr Alan Craig 07939 547198