Blair's quick fix

Tony Blair today revealed that he took just a "few moments" to decide whether London should bid for the 2012 Olympics despite the Government's initial lukewarm reaction to the idea.

The Cabinet took more than six months to give the go-ahead for a bid in May 2003, much to the surprise of the International Olympic Committee.

Blair said: "It only took me a moment's reflection to say that I would do it, but because it's such a big commitment you have to make sure you can both finance it and have the right plans for it."