Leyton Orient Fans' Trust Official Website

Meeting with Jennette Arnold OBE AM, London Assembly Member for North East London

On Tuesday 10 May, Doug Harper, Chair of Leyton Orient Fans' Trust, and Tony Roome, Leyton Orient Supporters Club, met with Jennette Arnold OBE AM, London Assembly Member for North East London.

The meeting discussed the decision by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) to award the use of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United (WHU), after the Olympic and Paralympic Games are over – and the Mayor’s apparent 'rubber stamping' of the OPLC decision without further scrutiny. In particular, the meeting focussed on the effect that the move by West Ham would have on Leyton Orient FC.

The views expressed by the supporters' organisations were:

• The move by West Ham would have a significant detrimental effect on the operations of Leyton Orient, and, in particular, affect the club's ability to attract the next generation of fans, and continue Orient’s award winning community programmes.
• West Ham's inability to fill the Olympic Stadium (particularly with a running track around the pitch) has been acknowledged by WHU – even before their eventual relegation from the Premier League. This will result in deep discounting of tickets on a regular basis – unfair competition which will, in turn, affect Orient's ability to continue to function on a commercial basis.
• The supporters' organisations noted that almost 4000 people had signed the petition calling on the Mayor and Government to review their acceptance of the OPLC decision. This petition is being run with the support of the Football Supporters' Federation, and is hosted on their website. LOFT and LOSC explained that this petition would continue for the moment.
• The Mayor’s rubber stamping of the OPLC decision – apparently without scrutiny – does not achieve the oversight and democratic accountability which is required of the Mayor's Office.
• There appears to be a case for the European Commission to consider whether Newham Council's loan of £40m to West Ham in support of their bid for the stadium comprised illegal state aid to a private company.
• Whether the Commission intervenes or not, we believe that the Newham Council investment decision is fundamentally flawed in light of the track record of football creditors being paid before any payment is made to other creditors. The fact that WHU are currently £100m in debt, and facing relegation from the Premier League, makes this issue particularly relevant.

These points were broadly accepted by Jennette Arnold, and she undertook to continue to support Leyton Orient's bid for fair treatment. As a result of questions she had tabled to the Mayor, she was able to clarify that the Mayor’s Office believed that the fact that the Premier League had approved the move by either WHU or Tottenham Hotspur, meant that neither the OPLC nor the Mayor’s Office needed to consider whether there was a football argument against such a move.

Jennette also undertook to present the petition to the Mayor, on behalf of Orient fans, at the appropriate time.

The supporters' organisations are grateful to Jennette Arnold for her continued support and for the time she is devoting to the issue.

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The latest newsletter from Jennette Arnold can be viewed here. Previous Mayoral Questions asked by Jennette Arnold about this issue are below:

Olympic Stadium & Leyton Orient

Question No: 514 / 2011

In the light of progress with a decision about the use of the Olympic Stadium, what support will you offer Leyton Orient to protect their fan base which fans fear will be challenged by another football team moving very close to them? Leyton Orient have been exemplary in their community work and as you know have been great supporters of the Olympic project. Will you agree to help support and protect this asset to Leyton and beyond to ensure they don’t fall victim to the legacy of the project they supported so wholeheartedly?

Written answer from the Mayor

I agree that Leyton Orient has undertaken exemplary community work, and has shown great support for the Games.  I am sure that Leyton Orient’s loyal fans will continue to support the club and that Leyton Orient will continue to recruit new fans in the future.

Olympic Stadium & Leyton Orient (1)

Question number 1118/2011       
Meeting date    23/03/2011      

Your answer to question 0514/2011 was most unsatisfactory and shows your usual lack of understanding of how a decision like this (in which you were influential) could negatively impact on Leyton Orient Football Club and the wider community of Leyton. A more detailed answer to my question would be most appreciated.

Answer by Boris Johnson

I would be happy to engage in a constructive discussion with Leyton Orient FC relating to any new proposals they have for future options for the club. I should stress, however, that I stand by my decision to endorse the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s recommendation of a preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium.

Olympic Stadium & Leyton Orient (2)

Question number 1119/2011       
Meeting date    23/03/2011      

The chair of the Leyton Orient Fans Trust (LOFT) felt that your answer to question 0514/2011 was patronising and offensive and seemed to imply that their fears about the fate of the club are groundless. He asked me to submit the following questions to you:

1) Was your decision informed by any report or study?

2) If so, will you share this information with LOFT?

3) If not, does this mean that the position of Leyton Orient Football club has not been considered and your remarks are merely an expression of blind faith, which clearly does not constitute 'due consideration' in the context of the decisions of a Public Body?

Answer by Boris Johnson

As documented in the publicly available record of my decision, I considered the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s recommendation against the criteria which were agreed and published at the beginning of the process, and using the same detailed information that the OPLC Board used; much of this information cannot be released for reasons of commercial confidentiality. Both I and OPLC did take into consideration the fact that the relevant football authority had given the requisite approval in principle for both bidding clubs to move to the Olympic Stadium, based on (among other things) a consideration of any possible impact on other football clubs in the area.

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