West Ham to sue over allegations of corruption
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.West Ham United are taking legal action against Tottenham Hotspur and the Sunday Times over allegations surrounding the validity of the Olympic Stadium bidding process. The club said it was treating claims made by the newspaper "with the utmost seriousness" and insisted it was "certain of the robustness" of its successful bid to take over the east London stadium following the 2012 games. It comes days after the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) confirmed an employee had been suspended after it was discovered she was working as a consultant for West Ham during the bidding process.
The woman has been suspended with immediate effect while the potential clash of interests is investigated.
A West Ham spokesman said: "West Ham United can confirm the club are taking legal action in relation to allegations made in today's Sunday Times."
The OPLC board, in charge of securing the future of the Olympic Park site, voted 14-0 in February to make the Hammers the first choice to move into the £486m stadium.
They were in a head-to-head contest with Tottenham. On Friday the OPLC revealed it had suspended one of it's employees following revelations about her work status. The OPLC released a statement saying: "It has come to our attention that an employee of the Olympic Park Legacy Company has been undertaking paid consultancy work for West Ham United FC. The company had no knowledge of this work and no permission was given to undertake it. This individual had no involvement whatsoever in our stadium process."
West Ham said it undertook an initial internal investigation which established that the work carried out by the individual was "not connected in any way to the bidding process for the Olympic Stadium but procurement project management thereafter".
The club added: "We are of the firm view that the integrity of the bidding process has not been compromised."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments