'Wembley to miss deadline'

The row over the Wembley Stadium project reignited today when a former Cabinet minister claimed the scheme could miss its completion deadline.

Former health secretary Alan Milburn warned a dispute between building contractors could mean the £750 million stadium was not ready for the FA Cup Final in April 2006. Mr Milburn called on the Football Association and Wembley National Stadium Ltd to investigate claims that the works will be delayed by up to nine months.

The FA stressed the project was still on schedule despite the falling-out between lead contractor Multiplex and North Eastbased firm Cleveland Bridge.

Cleveland Bridge, a company that supplied the stadium's £65million arch, was replaced on the project this month by Dutch firm Hollandia. The company is now locked in a legal battle over the works but the loss of the contract has forced it to issue 95 redundancy notices to workers at its factory in Darlington, Mr Milburn's constituency.

In a letter to acting FA chief executive David Davies, Mr Milburn said while the prospect of job losses was of local concern in the North-East, the overall Wembley saga was "a matter of national concern".

The former Cabinet minister said without Cleveland Bridge's expertise in building the new roof for the stadium, the whole project "will be substantially delayed" and the planned opening date of April 2006 will be missed.

"Nobody wants to see a contractual dispute leading to delays on what is a prestigious new national stadium. For that reason I hope the FA will consider investigating the background to this dispute and its consequences," he wrote.

Cleveland Bridge claims the new roof for the 90,000-seat venue may not be in place by May 2006 and the stadium not ready for opening until January 2007.

But an FA spokesman told the Evening Standard that it would not be holding an inquiry into the claims because it had been told by building experts that the row would not affect the schedule of construction.

Multiplex had an agreement to build the project to cost and on time and had assured WNSL that its new contractor could do the job. The Government was monitoring the works to ensure it did not fall behind schedule, the spokesman added. It is understood one of the reasons the FA is confident about finishing the works on time is that Hollandia took on many of the staff hired by Cleveland Bridge.