THE METROPOLITAN police have denied a Facebook rumour that they have issued a compulsory purchase order on land earmarked for a temporary Olympic base.
Campaigners are currently seeking judicial review of a decision to allow the building of the base on Wanstead Flats during the Games next year.
They say Parliament should not have given permission for the temporary structure, because a Home Office consultation with local people was fundamentally flawed.
Judges are expected to decide whether their case should be heard within the next few weeks, and campaigners say they are confident they will be granted a hearing.
A member of the Facebook group ‘Protect Wanstead Flats and Epping Forest’ suggested police had already drawn up plans should that challenge prove successful.
Using the name Tim Knight, the person posted: “Did you hear that because of the high court appeal the police have issued a compulsory purchase order for the area of Wanstead flats they are going to use.”
Eagle-eyed officers spotted the post and moved swiftly to deny the rumour, contacting Save Wanstead Flats spokesman Kevin Blowe, to set the record straight.
In an official statement, a police spokesperson said: “The Met has not issued a compulsory purchase order for land at Wanstead Flats and has no intention to do so.”
A spokeswoman for the City of London Corporation, which owns the land earmarked for the base, also denied any compulsory order had been received.
Meanwhile, Mr Blowe and his fellow campaigners are distributing thousands of leaflets to local homes, urging people to join a protest outside the High Court should they be granted judicial review.
Mr Blowe said: “We will have a banner outside the court and want to encourage as many people as possible to go into court and watch the hearing.
“We recognise that we are up against astronomical odds, but six months ago I couldn’t have imagined that we would be where we are now.
“I think we have a strong case and we have had some offers of free legal representation from barristers who support what we are doing.”
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