London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (Amendment) Bill
Debate between Annette Brooke and Hugh Robertson
Hugh Robertson
No; absolutely not. I have not overruled the roads Minister in any way. I do not have that power, which does not exist.
Annette Brooke
Does the Olympic Delivery Authority have the power to instruct the Minister to give the go-ahead to the road?
Hugh Robertson
I would have to check the requirements of the Act. The ability to set out an Olympic route network was laid out in the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006, which the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood, the right hon. Member for Bath (Mr Foster) and I were involved in passing five years ago. As the right hon. Lady has said, the power was introduced because there was complete traffic chaos at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, in which competitors missed their events and officials failed to turn up at the right time because the city became gridlocked. That has been a feature of every Olympics since.