Olympics tax backed by only 13%

Londoners overwhelmingly reject Ken Livingstone's planned council tax levy to fund the 2012 Olympics, a poll shows today.

Fewer than one in eight - 13 per cent - of residents in the Populus survey thought the planned ?20-a-year levy is worthwhile and would benefit London more than the rest of the UK.

The levy would last 10 years if Britain wins its bid to stage the Games. This was agreed by the Mayor after Gordon Brown said the Government could not foot the bill on its own.

The weekend poll showed that 67 per cent of Londoners back the principle of an Olympic bid, but a third feel the money should come from everyone in the country.

This backs up a YouGov finding last month that support for hosting the Olympics drops substantially when the cost is spelled out.