Christie Will Not Carry Olympic Torch on London Leg

Linford Christie will not carry the Olympic torch on the London leg of its journey to Beijing, after the Greater London Authority said that the decision to invite the former sprinter was 'a mistake'.

Christie, the 1992 Olympic 100m champion, was handed a life ban from the Games after testing positive for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, in 1999. It was thought that the London mayor Ken Livingstone had invited Christie to be one of 80 people who would each carry the flame for 250m when the Olympic torch arrives in London in April. The GLA today denied that that was the case.

"Linford Christie has made it clear he will not be participating in the torch relay," said a GLA spokesperson. "Inaccurate reports have appeared claiming that the mayor invited Linford Christie to participate in the torch relay. The decision to invite Linford Christie to be a torchbearer was not taken by the mayor.

"The decision to invite Linford Christie was taken by officials and was a mistake. The mayor merely issued letters to those they had decided to invite as a formality. The mayor himself had the right to nominate five torchbearers. Linford Christie was not one of them."

Christie's agent Sue Barrett, has cast doubts on those protestations, however, and claims coaching commitments would have prevented his participation in any case. "I have a letter in front of me signed by Ken Livingstone," she said. "It says 'I would be delighted if you would consider being one of our torchbearers in London'. I'm surprised [at what] they are saying considering it's his signature on the end of the letter."

Initial reports that Christie would be carrying the flame provoked a stern response from the International Olympic Committee. "We were not consulted about this," said an IOC spokeswomen, Emmanuelle Moreau. "We wish we had been because we would have strongly recommended not to give an invitation to an athlete who has an Olympic ban. We are surprised and disappointed."

The shadow sports minister, Conservative MP Hugh Robertson, said yesterday that it would be "perverse" for Christie to be involved in the torch relay.