False start for £100m push to win gold

Ministers drive to raise £100 million from the private sector to increase Britain's medal chances at the 2012 Olympics is not even "out of the starting blocks", MPs warned today.

The public accounts committee said there is "a risk" that the Government's target will not be met and claimed it could also hit the London Games' aim to boost participation in sport.

The committee reported: "There is a risk that, unless the activities of a wide range of public, private and voluntary bodies are properly co-ordinated, the focus on winning medals could distract the Department for Culture Media and Sport's attention from encouraging ordinary people to participate."

Chairman Edward Leigh added: "If the sum eventually raised is too little or too late, then that might harm our teams' medal prospects. There must be a Plan B for protecting the funds of the sports most likely to win medals in 2012."

He called on UK Sport, the high performance sports agency, to publish an action plan soon after next month's Beijing Games to clarify the effect of British athletes' performances in China on the UK's 2012 medal targets.

The plan will also identify how any weaknesses in the British team can be tackled.

The fundraising drive is expected to begin after the end of the Beijing Games but the Government has not been able to say how it expects to attract donors or provide guarantees that the money will be raised, the committee noted.