British govermment urged to get behind London 2015

London: The head of British athletics urged the government on Thursday to provide financial guarantees to help London win a battle with Beijing for the 2015 world championships.

UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner said government ministers were `frozen in the headlights` pending the coalition government`s long-awaited spending review on Oct. 20."We need some politicians with vision and imagination for sport to bring the championships to London. We have every chance of winning," he said. London mayor Boris Johnson said it would be hard to justify 45 million pounds (USD 71.33 million) in government underwriting with the 2012 Olympics coming up in the city and the country also hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2015. "I don`t think it would be right to throw London taxpayers` money at this bid...We in London can`t do it on our own and 45 million pounds is a lot to ask from the taxpayer to support a world athletics bid in the current climate," he said.The governing IAAF will make a decision on the 2015 championships at the end of November. London was awarded the 2005 world championships but did not stage the event after the government abandoned plans to build a new stadium. Helsinki ended up as the host city. Bureau Report