Still a lot of questions over 'legacy'

Kate Hoey, the former Sports Minister, caused huge controversy during London's bid for the 2012 Olympics when she claimed Paris deserved the Games more than Britain.

Today, the Labour MP has given an interview to London's Evening Standard which is likely to anger 2012 officials even more.

The big Olympic issue at the moment is legacy; what is going to be left for both Londoners and the rest of the UK when the Olympic party is over.

Hoey has attacked the Government for forgetting the promises made about changing the sporting face of Britain when 2012 made their pitch to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore in 2005. Remember the emotional film about inspiring children worldwide to take up sport.

She even claims that London chairman Lord Coe regrets using the word 'legacy'.

In an interview with former BBC and Daily Telegraph sports reporter Mihir Bose, Hoey is quoted as saying: "Two years ago I spoke to Seb about legacy. He said, Kate, I wish I had never used word (sic) legacy'."

I'd be surprised if Coe doesn't deny this conversation. The double Olympic champion is always talking about how he wants the Games to change the lives of kids and to provide unprecedented sports facilities for London, which is way behind most cities in the UK.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when London Mayor Boris Johnson next sits down with Seb Coe on the 2012 board. Hoey is Johnson's sports commissioner who is responsible for helping to deliver 2012 grass roots legacy.

Does she have a point, though?

I always believed Hoey's argument on Paris during the bid was weak. Olympic bidding isn't about who deserves the Games otherwise Paris would have won on determination alone, having bid twice before. The French do have better sports facilities but the Games would not have had the same impact on the French capital as they are already having on London.

But some would say she has a point on legacy. Is it really as joined up as the Government keeps telling us? Are we using the Games enough to inspire kids up and down the country to take up sport? And what about the Olympic Park? Is it really going to be a great legacy for London? We still don't know what will happen to the main stadium.

There are still many questions to be answered.