English Partnerships boss still hot tip for Olympic job

A source at EP said the regeneration agency was surprised that it had held on to Higgins for so long. The Australian is a former chief executive of developer Lend Lease; he is in the third year of a five-year contract with EP.

The source said: “To be honest, if I were looking for someone to do the job [heading up the Olympic Delivery Authority] then I would look no further than David. He’d be perfect for it.

“It is a huge job. David is aware that large, high-profile schemes have been the graveyard of many careers before now … But he has shown at EP that he has all the necessary skills.”

Higgins, who was tipped by Building last month to land the job of the head of the ODA, was involved with the successful Sydney Olympics in 2000 while he was at Lend Lease.

Meanwhile, the Olympics Bill had its second reading in parliament on Tuesday and will go to a special committee when the house returns after the summer recess.

As well as creating the ODA and investing it with powers to co-ordinate transport for the Games, the bill will introduce the regulations needed to meet the International Olympic Committee’s demands for the staging of the event.

The London Development Agency, the body responsible for buying land to stage the Olympics, has demanded a cut in the “unjustifiable” fees charged by law firms and land advisers to the Olympic sites.

The LDA said it had received invoices totalling £1.2m, which it claims should not have exceeded £500,000.