London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics was always going to run into financial difficulty, according to the former head of the rival bid from Paris 2012 bid.

Philippe Baudillon told the BBC that London's bid team had underestimated how much it would cost to host the Games in four years time, and that the true extent is now being felt. "The people from London 2012 were much better salesmen than the people from Paris," Baudillon told the broadcaster. "But it is much more difficult when you have the contract and you've made a lot of promises that are not linked to reality.

"The London bid was very optimistic in terms of costs." It follows recent comments from Olympics minister, Tessa Jowell, who suggested that the government would not have supported a bid if it had been known that the country would be facing economic troubles.

Image: London 2012