It’s Games on as events tsar goes to Canada - Tim Owen's Vancouver Winter Olympics ‘jolly’ gets go-ahead

CITY Hall chiefs have ignored the chorus of condemnation and approved plans to send its “events tsar” on an all expenses paid “jolly” to the Winter Olympics in Canada.
Tim Owen, assistant director of events, filming and contingency planning at Westminster City Council will jet off to Vancouver in February for four days at a cost of more than £3,000 to the taxpayer.
He will spend one of the days in the rocky mountains watching bobsleighing, figure-skating and “Super G” downhill slalom racing in what has been slammed as a “lavish waste of taxpayers’ money”.
Westminster is the only local authority stumping up the £3,300 fee after council leader Colin Barrow decided it was an invitation not to be refused.
Mr Owen will travel as a guest of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to learn from the Canadian city as part of the capital’s preparations as future host city in 2012.
All the Olympic boroughs – Newham, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Greenwich and Tower Hamlets – turned down the trip, claiming they couldn’t justify the expense.
Leader of the Labour group Paul Dimoldenberg said: “It is quite unbel­ievable that Westminster Conservatives can approve a £3,300 all expenses paid trip to the Vancouver Winter Olympics. 
“They are treating residents with total contempt. How can they possibly justify this Olympic trip? No other London borough has felt the need to send anyone to Vancouver, not even the five Olympic boroughs. Surely senior council officers can watch the ice-skating, bobsleigh and downhill skiing on TV just like the rest of us.”
Susie Squire, political director of the Taxpayers Alliance, said: “This is nothing more than a lavish jolly and is totally unjustifiable, especially given the backdrop of cuts. What can they possibly learn from going to Vancouver anyway?”

The council is far from contrite, saying it will benefit from the experience.
Dr Leith Penny, Westminster City Council’s strategic director for city management, said: “Our officer will learn valuable lessons from this trip to Vancouver as it will provide a relevant opportun­ity to observe and experience the type of regime which will be required in 2012. 
“Westminster will play a major role when the Olympics and Paralym­pics come to London in 2012. As well as hosting a variety of sports events a massive number of visitors will come into the West End for accommodation, dining, going out and to watch the Games from central London’s major public venues.
“Ninety-eight per cent of all tourists visit Westminster, the Olympic delegation will be staying in hotels here, and the city is set to reap benefits from tourism as a result of it being on the world’s stage so the council has a vital role to play in promoting that. 
“No one from the council attended the Beijing Olympic Games as we felt that the cities were not similar enough to warrant our going there, and we have kept the trip short, limiting our officer’s visit to five days.”
JAMIE WELHAM