She has raised the prospect of the £547 million Stadium hosting matches at the 2018 World Cup as part of an “iconic offer for London”, in an interview published today in the Evening Standard.

 

The determination of Sebastian Coe, the London 2012 chairman, that Britain should keep its bid promise to retain a track at the Stadium after it has hosted the Olympics and Paralympics has led to negotiations with several Premiership football clubs, including West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, taking over the tennacy to break down.

 

The Stadium is now due to be downsized from 80,000 to 25,000 but Ford has now again raised the possibility that this plan could change, especially if England's World Cup bid is successful in December 2010.

 

Currently it is expected that Wembley and Twickenham would host matches in London but the Football Association are not due to make a final decision until November.

 

Ford, a Labour peer, said: “People you talk to say that what is needed is a much stronger sporting legacy there and I want to work very closely so that what we leave there is a knockout sporting legacy.

 

"There's a lot of work to be done around how we use the facilities."

 

It is understood that there are ongoing discussions within the London Development Agency for the Stadium to maintain its current capacity or, at worst, be reduced to one of just 50,000.