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Ray Winstone: London 2012 Olympics Were 'An Outrageous Liberty'

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Actor Ray Winstone has slammed the 2012 London Olympics in his autobiography ‘Young Winstone’ calling the event organisers “corrupt” and “white-collar gangsters”.

The East End-born star questioned whether Britain should have shelled out £8.92bn to host the sporting event while it struggled to pay for essential services like hospitals and education.

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Writing in his book, the ‘Noah’ actor said: “The building of the actual stadium was a complete f***ing con.”

“It wasn’t the Olympics themselves I objected to – I really admire the athletes and the effort and dedication they put in – I just looked around at East London and thought, ‘When we’ve built the hospitals and paid the teachers to be teachers and stopped closing all the fire stations down, maybe then we can afford this, but at the moment it’s an outrageous f***ing liberty’.”

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He also questioned the morals of the event organisers saying:  “The Olympic organisation isn’t really about the sport, it’s about the building, and when I see the people who run the committee – not so much Lord Coe, but he’s a puppet, anyway – they look like white-collar gangsters to me. 

“The corruption isn’t just a side issue, it’s at the heart of the whole enterprise.”

He also slated the Olympics back in 2011 while campaigning against the closure of Netherwood Day Centre in West Hampstead, saying: “It is so important to keep places like Netherwood open in a climate when our Government seem only interested in taking all the things the people of this country need away from us and giving us an Olympic stadium.”

“Perhaps the sick and needy can all have a jog round the track – that’ll make them feel better.”

However, the 57-year-old star seemed a bit less angry towards the Games in 2012, having campaigned for the Olympic Stadium it to become the new home for his beloved West Ham United after the Games finished.

"The fun and games of the Olympics are over now and we have a golden opportunity to really change the perception of the area and put the pride back in east London," he told the Daily Mail.

"The prestige of having a Premier League club playing in that Stadium would keep the focus of the world on Stratford for generations and long after the memories of the summer’s spectacular sporting moments have faded away."

They won the bid, signing a 99-year lease which will see the Irons become the park’s permanent residents from the 2016-2017 football season onwards.

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Image credits: Press Association