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| England deny withdrawal from games • Chief executive denies Telegraph report• Foreign Office has not advised against travelCommonwealth Games England has strenuously denied claims that it will withdraw from next October's event in Delhi over security concerns.A front page report in today's Daily Telegraph quotes a senior Whitehall source as saying there is "virtually no chance" an England team will be sent to India.The CGE chief executive, Ann Hogbin, said: "That is definitely not the case. Our current and strong intention is to field a team for the Games in Delhi next year."Of course, we have a duty of care to the athletes and other team members which we take very seriously. Despite having been given extensive briefings from relevant authorities we have not received any indication that we should not participate in the Games and we will continue to work hard to put in place the best possible arrangements for our team."A statement from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office read: "The FCO has not advised any of the British teams not to participate in the Commonwealth Games."We are aware that the Commonwealth Games Federation had some concerns about preparations for the Games. We continue to work closely with the Indian authorities who are doing everything they can to ensure a safe and secure Games."The Games' organising committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, said the Telegraph report was well wide of the mark."England have said the report is baseless," Kalmadi said. "Security is certainly not an issue. A foolproof security was discussed for the Games during the security liaison conference in New Delhi in September."Experts from 26 of the 71 nations which will participate in the Games, including Britain, Australia and New Zealand, took part in the conference and expressed satisfaction with the preparations. India formed the liaison group due to heightened safety fears over travelling to New Delhi for the competition.England's chef de mission, Craig Hunter, said the team was all set to travel to India for the Games. "It is our intention to send a strong team to the Games and we are very much looking forward to it," he said on the team's official website.The chief of Australia's Commonwealth Games team, Perry Crosswhite, said Australia was comfortable with the level of security in place in Delhi."I have nothing new to change our view … everything is on track to go," he said. "We will take the best advice we can get and at this stage it [security] is adequate."I have not had one athlete, one manager, one coach – no one has contacted me with the view that they shouldn't be going. We don't want to force athletes to go, they have to make their own decision, but no one has raised it."The Games will happen. Whether it's only one team out of 71 nations, it won't be good for the Games, but they will happen. I'm not a security expert but they've employed people that are and the reports are good. These days security is a major issue everywhere."The issue of security for the Games, which are scheduled to take place from 3-14 October, has been under scrutiny after a number of terrorist incidents in the region. Several major sporting events have been moved from the subcontinent.The England team withdrew from the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad in August after terrorist threats. In March the Sri Lanka cricket team were attacked while being driven to a match in Lahore, Pakistan. Twelve gunmen attacked their convoy and six Sri Lankan players were injured.After that incident, the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament was moved to South Africa.Commonwealth Games 2010Commonwealth GamesIndiaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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