2012 olympics

Playing down the meltdown at Heathrow’s border control earlier this week, Damian Green told MPs: “I stress to the House that our information shows that queuing times bore no resemblance to some of the wilder suggestions.” But with these “wilder suggestions” coming from the airlines and passengers themselves, it’s little wonder that British Airways’ chief executive Willie Walsh accused the minister was “misleading” the public over the extent of waiting times at passport control. Mr Walsh told Channel 4 News: “I think he was certainly misleading when he told people that the maximum queue was 90 minutes when we know it went well beyond that – and not just on one occasion.” Who’s right? FactCheck jets in.

“How can you calculate the long-term returns on the Olympic facilities when you don’t know whether a newly-built stadium will turn out to be a popular sports centre or the next Millennium Dome?”