In an interview published today in the Financial Times, Sir Keith, who was the chief executive during the bid, said that everyone involved in the bid was made to feel that they had a vital role to play.

 

He told the newspaper: "During our Olympic bid it was very important to sit everyone in the team down every week or two to remind each of them that the decision would be tight and we knew that we could win or lose by just one vote, so it was absolutely essential that every member of the team appreciated just how crucial their role was.

 

"From the receptionist who appreaciates how easy it would be to upset just one IOC (International Olympic Committee) member on the phone, to the accounts clerk who needs to be sure that every single invoice is related to nothing less than winning, it's crucial that everyone is in the same winning mindset.

 

"When you achieve this you create a very powerful team."

 

Sir Keith, the founder of the successful Nectar loyalty scheme, also told the Financial Times that people in Britain had yet to appreciate how big an event the Olympics in 2012 will be.

 

He said: "I don't think the penny has yet dropped or that many people realise what's about to happen here.

 

"When we kick off the opening ceremony in London and are hosting the Olympics, the event will be the proudest moment that most people will remember in this country.

 

"The UK hasn't hosted an Olympics since 1948."

 

Sir Keith, who is now the deputy chairman of London 2012, also claimed that despite the present stories about the budget Britain is actually getting a bargain by staging the Olympics.

 

He said: "The fact is that running the Olympic Games is not costing the taxpayer a penny.

 

"The £2 billion it will cost to run the Games and the Paralympis is all commercially funded.

 

"The taxpayer's money is going into building facilites which will be around for several decades after the event.

 

"Repairing the city's services, replacing sewers, placing power cables underground, rebuilding railway stations and many other activities are just a few of the long-term projects which represent an investment in city.

 

"Many are in East London, one of the poorest parts of the country.

 

"When it comes to venues, we believe we have learned the lessons of previous Olympics; namely you don't build what you don't need.

 

"As a result, many of the venues are temporary.

 

"For instance, there are already plenty of excellent equestrian and shooting venues in the country, so we don't need to build dedicated sites for these.

 

"So, from a taxpayer's perspective the bulk of the money is not about funding two weeks of Games in the summer of 2012.

 

"This is a message that the media hasn't wanted to listen to.

 

"Instead it's a great stick to beat politicians with and unfortunately we're linked to Government and it's policies."