Spurs “bung” claims rejected

Boris Johnson’s office have defended an offer of £17million to help Tottenham build a new stadium after it was branded “a bung” by Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn.

The London mayor wants Spurs to drop their legal action over the award of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham and is offering £17million in infrastructure improvements to the club to develop a new ground next to White Hart Lane.

But Hearn, whose club have joined Spurs in the application for a judicial review of the Olympic Stadium decision, blasted the move.

Hearn told talkSPORT: “Boris has made his move to try and placate Tottenham and if I’m being cynical, it looks like a bung just to get him out of a court case. I come from the real world and I can recognise a bung when I see it.”

The £17million offer is from the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Haringey Council and the London mayor’s office rejected the suggestion that it was inappropriate.

They have also denied a report that Tottenham have a deadline until tomorrow to accept the offer, saying talks with the club are still continuing.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “To suggest that the proposed offer from the GLA and Haringey Council towards Tottenham Hotspur is an inappropriate use of funds is entirely inaccurate.

“The discussions that took place yesterday outlined a comprehensive plan for the regeneration of the area that is in the interests of not just the club, but the residents and businesses of Tottenham.”

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