London Mayor Boris Johnson said that he is “perfectly happy” for the details of West Ham’s Olympic Stadium contract to be made public, according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. The mayor claimed that the club was "seeking to take legal action" to block the release of the information. Johnson oversees the London Legacy Development Corp. and said he had “nothing to hide” after the information commissioner ruled that the details of West Ham’s rental agreement should be made public. Johnson: “I’m perfectly happy to publish the details of this arrangement. I understand the football club concerned is not so keen because they think it will give other clubs an insight into their finances. I think they may be trying to take legal action on that point.” Johnson "clashed over the issue" with London Assembly member Andrew Dismore, who charged the mayor wanted "to cover up the fact West Ham had put one over on you and taken you to the cleaners.” The LLDC has 35 days from Sept. 3 to publish the ruling if it decides not to appeal. A coalition of 14 football supporters’ trusts "have called on Johnson and the LLDC to waive their right to appeal in the name of transparency." Johnson: “As far as I’m concerned, get it out there; we have nothing to hide.” The LLDC "has spent more than a year trying to block freedom of information requests." Johnson: “We have a very good rental income coming in from West Ham. We will be spending no more public money on this thing. I’m very happy to get the information out there” (GUARDIAN, 9/16).
