(ATR) A British member of the European Parliament says the highest reaches of British government helped sabotage the Madrid 2020 Olympic bid.
Graham Watson told the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation the British government was incensed over Spain’s border policies with Gibraltar. Gibraltar is on the Iberian Peninsula, but a British overseas territory, and remains a thorny diplomatic issue for both Britain and Spain.
Watson said, "I am told that PM Cameron actually said to the Spanish Prime Minister, 'If you carry on with these border queues, we will make sure you don’t get the Olympic Games.' And that, I believe, is what happened."
Madrid lost in the first round of the 2020 voting, finishing behind Istanbul and bid winner Tokyo.
A spokesperson for the British government was later quoted saying: "Sir Graham Watson was speaking as an MEP, not as a member of Her Majesty’s Government.
"As has always been the practice, the UK government did not favor any of the three finalists over others, and there was absolutely no UK attempt to influence any of the bids."
Written by Ed Hula III
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