Never any worries about Tour funding, tourism chief insists

Gary Verity, the chief executive of tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire, insisted the plans to host the race’s Grand Départ had the full support of the Prime Minister despite quango UK Sport raising major concerns over its staging.

The future of the event, which is expected to provide a huge boost to Yorkshire’s economy, was thrown into doubt when organisers’ initial bid for public funding was rejected this week.

In a letter to Leeds City Council, Sports Minister Hugh Robertson criticised the bid for failing to outline how the event’s later leg in Cambridge and London would be organised.

But Yorkshire MPs were claiming a major victory after it was revealed the Treasury had stepped in at the 11th hour and set aside up to £10m to help host the three stages of the event.

Mr Verity, whose organisation is responsible for delivering the stages of the Tour de France held in the UK, said he was not worried about securing the funding despite the highly critical assessment of the bid.

He said: “It was made clear to me when I was at the Cabinet meeting in Leeds that this is something the Government wants to get behind.

“It is a no-brainer. This is the biggest sporting event in the world every year and the biggest event in the UK since the Olympics. It is very important that we as a nation support that.

“David Cameron saw that and so did the Deputy Prime Minister. With the two of them supporting it, it was always going to happen.

Mr Verity spoke after the Y13 tourism conference in Leeds. He denied claims by Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, that he had not fully discussed policing costs for the Tour. She wrote on Twitter: “Gary Verity has been unclear about funding policing of the Tour. He needs to talk to North Yorkshire Police.”

President’s praise: Page 9