Jowell backs minister

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell today endorsed a minister who admitted lambasting London's 2012 Games bid as a waste of money.

She stepped in after tourism minister James Purnell confessed to writing an article that drubbed the bid as "the wrong priority" for Britain.

His piece demanded: "We must ask ourselves if it's worth spending up to £5 billion hosting the games."

The article was written in 2003 when the bid was first being put together. It resurfaced after Mr Purnell was promoted to take charge of tourism in last week's reshuffle, which puts him at the centre of ef forts to convince Olympics chiefs that London is equipped to host the games.

Ms Jowell is his boss, both as Culture Secretary and as the Cabinet minister in overall charge of the bid. She said that Mr Purnell had her backing.

"He has become a true convert to the cause," he said.

Mr Purnell said he changed his mind about London's bid long ago, adding: "This was an article written just over two years ago, before the decision to bid had been taken and when there was a genuine debate."