Olympics bid decision in two weeks

A decision on whether Britain will bid for the 2012 Olympic Games will not be made for at least another two weeks, Downing Street said.

The Cabinet discussed the merits of hosting the Games at an extended meeting.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said there were "complex issues that arise from a number of departments, for the Government as a whole, for the mayoralty, and the Greater London Authority".

The Cabinet had agreed to have further discussions in two weeks after further detailed work in consultation, he said.

The Olympics took up the vast majority of the Cabinet, which was still discussing the issue.

Mr Blair's spokesman said: "Everybody acknowledges that it would be great if we could bid for the Olympics.

"But there was agreement that this has got to be a hard-headed assessment of all the different factors."

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell reached an agreement last week with London Mayor Ken Livingstone to split the public cost of staging the Games, which is estimated at £2.6bn.

But Chancellor Gordon Brown has said that any decision must be weighed against the cost of reforming the public services.

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