Ministers 'won't uses 2012 lanes'
Ministers 'will not be allowed' to use special 2012 lanes
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Thursday, 17, Nov 2011 01:56
By Neal Wallace
Ministers will not be allowed to use the special lanes reserved for Olympic officials and athletes, the sports minister has said.
The BBC reports that Baroness Garden said government officials will not be treated as members of the "Olympic family". Those caught using the lanes without special dispensation could be fined £200.
Fears have been raised that the lanes, which are part of the 109-mile Olympic Route Network to be used by the 18,000 officials and competitors involved in the Games, will create further congestion in the capital.
Asked about the issue in Parliament, Baroness Garden - who speaks for the government on Olympic issues - said that there would be no exception for ministers.
She added that public transport was "at the heart" of the Games' transport policy and said ministers should "travel with the rest of us by the same mechanisms that they deem appropriate for the rest of the population".
It was recently announced that London had been chosen as the host city of the 2017 World Athletics Championships.