The Olympic spending spree is on... Officials claim £100,000 for lavish parties and meals
Officials in charge of building projects for the 2012 London Olympics have claimed more than £100,000 in expenses on top of their taxpayer-funded salaries.
Board members and directors of the Olympic Delivery Authority - which has seen its budget grow from £2.4billion to £9.3 billion - used the money to throw lavish parties and pay for meals at some of London's top restaurants, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Last October, ODA chairman John Armitt claimed his organisation was 'committed to bearing down on costs'.
Big spender: Chairman John Armitt, far right, with Sebastian Coe
But at the same time, the ODA's £250,000-a-year construction director, Howard Shiplee, ran up £29,000 worth of expenses.
His most lavish outlay was £1,200 for a dinner at Somerset House on the banks of the River Thames for 19 employees from construction firm JCB.
Mr Shiplee was also reimbursed for seven different meals with fellow ODA employees.
One was a £145 meal at the Manhattan Bar & Terrace in the Marriott Hotel in Canary Wharf, East London. He also claimed £2,200 for taxis and £15,000 on hotels over a two-year period.
Mr Armitt's deputy, Sir Roy McNulty, claimed £17,000, including £390 on taxis for a single day.
Dennis Hone, ODA finance director, who earns £250,000, also treated chief executive David Higgins to a £133 meal at the Cinnamon Club in St James's Park, Central London.
Mr Armitt claimed £230 for a lunch with a BBC journalist and an MP at Westminster restaurant Shepherd's.
None of the ODA employees had to justify their expense claims, it is said, leaving the system wide open to abuse.
Critics last night denounced the officials' ' extravagance' after i t was revealed ODA employees had claimed expenses worth £109,307.97 over a two-year period.
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said: 'It is shocking these people are using public money to take each other out for dinner or using it to pay for parties.
'They are already paid huge amounts from the public purse, without having to scramble around for extra lunches.
'These revelations call into question those responsible for the London Olympics.
'Many of them should be entered for the high jump.'
An ODA spokesman said: 'We reimburse staff for travel and accommodation when on workrelated business.
'Public transport is used wherever possible and the entertainment costs were an important part in building relationships.'
