Soccer:London mayor Boris Johnson has admitted West Ham will "almost certainly" win the right to rent the Olympic Stadium after a deal for the club to buy the venue collapsed.

The decision to pull the plug on selling the stadium to the Hammers has been branded “a catastrophe”, with London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe blamed for insisting on the running track being retained.

The Government insist, however, that the track will be “non-negotiable” in the new tender process, which will see up to €108 million of public money now spent on the stadium.

Johnson insisted the taxpayer would not carry the can, saying: “I think we have come up with a very good solution. We will keep it in public hands but we will effectively rent it to a football club, almost certainly West Ham, and that will cover the costs and I think it will be a very good deal for the taxpayer.”