VAN COMMENEE SHOCK

BMC CHIEF SHOULD QUIT SAYS CAMERON

'BETTER ORGANISED RIOTS': PM Cameron blasts BMC set up

The Prime Minister has today branded the debacle surrounding the forthcoming BMC Grand Prix at Watford "a national joke" and has demanded the resignation of the organisation's top dog - Pat Fitzgerald. The under fire chief executive has remained silent since his Grand Prix Organising Committee (GPOC) took the sensational step of re-opening registration for the event after closing it five days early on Monday.

"It has been a total disaster" thundered Cameron from Downing Street today "how can classy athletes like Joe MacDonald and Stephen Emery have their entries deferred whilst others sail into the event without a second look? It is humiliating for those involved and it is high time that the BMC took this sort of foul up more seriously". The firm words from the PM come just three months after he pledged to clear up the "horrendous state of athletics under the old Government". Fitzgerald is likely to be summoned to Downing Street before the week is out to explain yet another humiliation for the supposed "premier middle distance club" in the country.

Last week, Alasdair Donaldson (who doesn't have time to read this blog) used his annual press conference heap scorn on BMC for "fundamentally failing athletics". "When I was in school" blasted the Scot "BMC were the be all and end all. They are a bit of a joke now". It is understood that George Gandy's PA has not ruled out boycotting the event by "refusing to make the tea" for the officials - who last year failed to spot several athletes crossing the line.

Meanwhile, Pete Matthews has announced that he will not be taking part in the event in order to spend more time with his GB International kit (Mountain Running) and Mo Farah has been told that he has "missed the deadline" and so the Euopean 10,000m record holder has been placed on a waiting list for a lane in the 'H' 800m race. It is also thought the BMC were forced to reject applications from Tariku Bekele on the grounds that he wasn't as good as his brother and Ryan Hall because "no one really liked him". Andy Baddeley is due to take part despite concerns on his part that other competitors were "a bit thick".

MP NAMES SEAWARD IN PRIVACY ROW

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN: Details surrounding Seaward's private life still cannot be revealed

John Hemming MP has named Kevin Seaward under parliamentary privilege as the athlete at the centre of a privacy row. In a victory for democracy, Hemming declared that it was "disgraceful that such a high profile figure was hiding behind the law to cover up his private life". The echo has three times been to court with Seaward over the issue and even now cannot reveal the intimate details that surround his legal action. As recently as this morning, Mr Justice Eady refused to quash the super injunction against Echo Group International (the echo's parent company) despite days of social networking gossip.

Mr Eady said that it was "not in the public interest" for the echo to engage in "shameless gossip" about an otherwise very private individual. "Person Z has every right to expect a certain degree of privacy even though he has chosen a very public domain in which to conduct his professional life" said the Judge "it is beyond the realms of my understanding to know why the public would be interested in unsubstantiated gossip". It was concluded that the 98,000 people who mentioned his name on Twitter over the past week were "in contempt of court" and could technically be sent to prison for two years.

Seaward's solicitors have threatened to "put the echo out of business" if we publish "anything about the completely personal and private circumstances". However, the echo can confirm that the injunction has nothing to do with Seaward's drunken behaviour at the Whittle wedding back in December, nor his shameful conduct at Loughborough's New Year party in January. The rumours on Twitter suggesting that the former Irish International was receiving treatment for a coffee addiction are also untrue.

Seaward was flanked by three security guards at this weekend's Loughborough International and his official website has been suspended since the early hours of this morning. It is understood that the star plans to take refuge in his home country just as soon as Barrack Obama (Seaward is a Republican) has left it. His official spokesman said that he "had and would never have any comment to make on the matter". 

LOUGHBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL SHOCK

PICTURE EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA AND TEAM WATCH BUCS LIVE STREAM

NEWS ROUND UP

'NO CONCERN' OVER OLYMPIC FUNDING: COE

ENNIS 'NOT FAZED' BY MEDIA HYPE

Jessica Ennis has denied that she has been distracted by the special attention she has received since winning the World Championships in 2009. The Heptathlete has been the subject of fierce media scrutiny ever since the BBC revealed plans for an annual "Jess Day" where they show 24 hours of non-stop Ennis related programming on BBC 1 and BBC Radio Five Live. Although the idea has been quietly dropped, it is understood that BBC producers have now rented homes up and down Ennis' Sheffield street in order to be the first to break any "Jess News". A Beeb insider told the echo that the £10m project was already paying off. "Last week and eagle eyed report spotted that Jess has brought 1% milk instead of the usual semi-skimmed" enthused the senior executive "it prompted a series of stories on the benefits of such a move. Unfortunately we had to retract them all when we spotted a return to the usual green tops the following day". Earlier this year, Ennis called for "a thorough review" of Facebook usage after Kelly Sotherton was accused of hacking into her account.

SMITH CALLS FOR NEWHAM FOCUS

Newham's manager Bob Smith has called for his athletes to remain "focussed on the task at hand" ahead of the new season. The club are in serious financial difficulty and are badly in need of the funding that a third successive Premiership title would bring. "I have sat the lads down" said Smith "and told them to forget everything but running". It is understood that the club will be unable to maintain the £150m annual wage bill "much past June" and players are being encouraged by their agents to look for other clubs. 

FARAH FUMING AT ROYAL SNUB

Mo Farah has claimed to of "lost sleep" over his "derisory" seating position at Friday's Royal Wedding. The GB International is well known to be a personal friend of Prince William and has been snapped on regular shooting jaunts with the Royals around the Balmoral estate. Farah is upset after being assigned a seat towards the back of Westminster Abbey and is "next to a bunch of no hopers" according to the 5k star. "I am seventeenth in line to be best man" thundered Farah "how can I be treated so badly? I'm sitting next to Nick Clegg - it's going to be awful".

OLYMPIC STADIUM SHOCK

OLYMPIC ROUND UP

VERNON 'MISTAKE' BREAKS 2012 CLOCK

STOPPAGE TIME: Vernon 'did not know' the clock required constant power

Andy Vernon has apologised after mistakenly pulling the plug on the 'Countdown to 2012' clock in Central London. The Aldershot man told his official website that he had "had a nightmare" when looking for somewhere to charge the battery on his mobile phone. Organisers have called the blunder "hugely embarrassing" and have not ruled out handing Vernon a hefty bill. 

TICKETS 'SHOULDN'T BE SOLD TO POOR PEOPLE': COE

Lord Coe looks set to cause a stir after claiming that tickets for blue-ribboned events should only be sold to "the most well off" and "uneducated tramps" should not be allowed in. "The Games is not for everyone" said his Lordship "it would be dreadful to have commoners wandering around in the background of the 100m". It is understood that LOCOG will be banning the wearing of hoodies, low hanging jeans and anything made by Burberry in a bid to discourage "hoipolloi" from coming near.

ENNIS GETS COLD, BBC IN CRISIS

The BBC are preparing for what senior executives have called "the worst case scenario" after Jessica Ennis caught a cold sidelining the World Heptathlon Champion for "at least a day". "An Olympics without Jess would not be an Olympics at all" said the BBC's Director of Ennis Output (Southern Region) "worse still, if she turns up and then doesn't win - hours of pre-prepared footage will be wasted". A Beeb insider told the echo that the Corporation had rushed a "dedicated medic" to be at Ennis' side and denied that they were overreacting.

OLYMPICS 'COST A FORTUNE' SHOCK

The British sporting world is reeling from the news that the Olympic Games actually cost a lot of money. Furious protestors have taken to the streets of the East End to demand that the "wasteful" projects are halted immediately and a 24 hour Asda is built in place of the Olympic Stadium. It is understood that the Games Cleaning Directorate (fresh from the Commonwealth Games cleaning project) are about to walk out in sympathy. "I am shocked at how much this is all costing" said a senior executive at Lloyds Banking Group "I really do wonder how Lord Coe and his team sleep at night" 

THE ECHO BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

IN IT TOGETHER: The Coalition share their highlights

YES WE CAN: President Obama shares his favourites with Secretary Clinton

A MOMENT IN HISTORY: Egypt gives thanks for the Echo

BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at the official party

NEW MATTHEWS RACE SHOCK

ENGLAND ATHLETICS APOLOGISE FOR 'SOMME-LIKE' NATIONAL

MUD BATH: Steve Vernon celebrates his win

England Athletics have conceded that they "got it wrong" in allowing the National Cross Country Championships to take place on a course "more suitable for a war than a race". The governing body have today been inundated with complaints from furious athletes about the mess of their kit and the resulting damage to washing machines across the country.

"Cross Country should not be run in these sort of conditions" said a red faced EA spokesman "we appreciate now that to have any mud on the course to totally unacceptable and we will be doing our best to rectify it in future years". 2012's event at Parliament Hill is already under threat as organisers face increasing calls for it "to be held indoors" from now on. "Any event at Parliament Hill is likely to involve mud" continued the spokesman "and so it might be best to steer away from that. We are ruling nothing out - it could even be run on road".

Yesterday's race - won by Steve Vernon - had the highest drop out rate in history and officials had deal with a stream of furious team managers pointing out "severe mud damage" to club tents. Some athletes have still yet to finish their race. England Athletics insiders have today estimated the cost of the clean up operation to be "close to £35m". "The whole field is going to have to be dug up and relaid" said our source "and [EA] will have to pay for thousands of cars to be fully valeted". The association have set up a 24 hour hotline to deal with the "unprecedented call volume" following the event and have encouraged relatives concerned about competitors to contact them urgently.

James Wilkinson who slumped to a disappointing 21st place blasted race organisers calling the whole day "a fiasco". "How can any half decent runner be expected to run in that?" thundered Wilkinson from his post race press conference "I am going to need psychological help to get over this. I am absolutely traumatised".

SNOWBALL SLAMS 'SELFISH' MATTHEWS

THE SUNDAY INTERVIEW: BEN SNOWBALL

In the first of a series of interviews, the Echo catches up with displaced LSAC skipper Ben Snowball just days after being forced out by angry fans. He shares his views on leadership, mud and Pete Matthews

GOING, GOING, GONG: Snowball collected no silverware as LSAC skipper

IT HAS BEEN a tortuous few weeks for Ben Snowball. First, he suffered repeated calls from high profile stars to walk away from his £4m top job at LSAC, then he faced the humiliation of leading Loughborough to the worst BUCS performance in their history. Snowball inherited a mess at LSAC. With debts soaring to record levels and the leftovers of a squad ravaged by the reckless signings of his predecessors, many felt that the job was a poisoned chalice. But Snowball didn't see it like that: "I am not going to sit and here say that I thought it would be easy. But I never had any idea how bad things were and I never saw the sort of vilification I got coming. No one deserves that." A beleaguered skipper finally called it quits late last Sunday night just eight months into his contract.

"It was a really tough call" sighed Snowball, running his hand through his unkept curly hair "I feel very upset about the way I was treated - and I can honestly say that what happened at BUCS was not my fault. Hand on heart I can say that". Looking visibly tired, he then paused a moment to gather himself and took a sip of mineral water. "I think that many people need to stand up and take responsibility for what happened."

Who does Ben hold responsible for Loughborough's fall from grace? "Pete Matthews" stormed the now worked up ex-skipper "he is completely to blame. How can he drop out of a BUCS 'A' Race? How can anyone do that? I picked him in good faith and he let me down and everyone else down." Matthews was forced out of the race with injury, but rallied himself to record a personal best performance over 5k in Armagh less than a week later. "That says it all, doesn't it?" said Snowball, his face creased with rage and his hazel eyes staring straight ahead. "Either his physio is a miracle worker or he isn't a team player. I mean, this is a recovery akin to that of f****** Lazarus isn't it?" Snowball went on to reveal that he would "never be talking" to Matthews again, adding that he had on good authority that the disgraced AAAs fraudster would never be picked for a Loughborough team again. "He's a joke, a complete joke" he added.

Speaking from his swanky London hideaway, Snowball didn't stop at blasting Pete Matthews - Guru George Gandy also came in for heavy criticism. "If he's the guru then I'm worried about athletics" thundered the one-time National Cross Country (team) Champion "I expected to be blown away when I met him, but all I got was a lecture about altitude. I know it's not George's fault that Pete Matthews did what he did, but I felt like I was on my own out there - no support." Gandy famously took three days to lend his support to his captain when many ex-alumni called for him to go. There were even rumours that the guru was lining up Stephen Emery to take over. "That isn't fair, no one should have to work like that".

So, what has Snowball learned from his experience? "Never trust gingers" he concluded curtly "and take a bit of valium to get you through it. Keep smiling and carry on - I took a lot of refuge in the arms of my friends and as soon as I can show my face in public again, I will go back and see them".

THE ECHO ASKS: IS THIS MAN SINGLE HANDEDLY KILLING ATHLETICS?

Wanted: Edwards is suspected of "crimes against athletics"

In a shocking report seen by the Lufbra Echo Jonathan Edwards has been accused of being "absolutely responsible" for destroying the interest in British athletics. The world triple jump record holder - affectionately known as Jedwards by his colleagues - has been presenting on the BBC for the past few years and viewers are said to be "turning off in disgust."

"He's unbearable" thundered one Rita from Tunbridge Wells "smug, dismissive, ignorant and dull....I turn the sound down when he comes on." The report commissioned by the BBC Trust and written by academics at the University of North Dunstable said that Edwards' hair was becoming "an increasing concern". "The style of spiked follicles via the use of a hair gel formula" said the authors "is more at home on entertainment programs such as the X Factor than athletics coverage".

Edwards took some heavy criticism after his dismal showing at the European Athletics Championships and many thought that he would not be appearing as the anchor again. However, with Steve Cram and Brendan Foster citing an "adverse reaction to snow" and Sue Barker refusing to work at Winter, Beeb executives were left with no option but to hand the microphone to the hapless Edwards. "We are aware of a number of complaints surrounding Mr Edwards" said a spokesman "this is something we are looking into and can confirm that it was an executive decision to ask Mr Edwards not to wear his earring ever again."

The news comes as a blow to Edwards who was the subject of a similar report last year confirming his credentials as something of a twerp. He will be hoping that the relatively unwatched indoor season will allow him scope to revive his fading reputation.

WEEK IN PICTURES

NORTH KOREA SHOCK

GANDY IN DATE RIDDLE

2012 OLYMPICS UPDATE

* Editor's Note: Mr Donaldson does not have the time to read this site.

EIGHTLANE FACES WINDING UP ORDER

END OF THE TRACK: The error message shown to loyal Eightlaners this evening

Popular running forum, Eightlane has been handed a winding up order by the HMRC, the Lufbra Echo understands. In what is sure to go down as one of the saddest days in the history of the sport, the website was shut down after tax bills totalling in excess of £5m were left unpaid. A spokesperson for the forum this evening said that he "had every hope" that the site could be back on its feet under new ownership in the coming weeks.

Today's news comes just days after Eightlane was forced to pay an undisclosed sum to one its employees after they successfully sued over the "appalling conditions" endured by the staff. The tribunal heard how eighteen hour days were "very much the norm" and "inane and irrelevant posts about people no one had ever heard of" were making staff "borderline suicidal". 

It is understood that a dramatic take over attempt by Runnerslife was foiled just hours before the court order was sent out. A RL spokesman said that the team at Eightlane were "unworkable" and as such the deal could not be finalised. "Like all these things, it came down to money" said the Welshman "we didn't see why such a large proportion of earning should be paid to an essentially bust site that relies on underachievers ranting about nonsense".

Runnerslife are, of course, not without fault in this. During the summer they infuriated Eightlane chiefs by poaching Dave Norman and were rumoured to be behind the dramatic exit of Luke Cragg. Loyal Eightlane fans have been resigned to this outcome for sometime and have called on "anybody with a conscience" to boycott the Wales based site from now on. "I think it's outrageous" said regular poster 'Interested', "just because they have their stupid blogs and stupid running vests, they have gone after and destroyed a national treasure."

MANHATTAN THANKSGIVING PARADE NEWS

ROYAL WEDDING SHOCK

MATTHEWS ARRESTED IN MANCHESTER

EXCLUSIVE BREAKING NEWS

The most famous athlete never to have broken 4 minutes for 1500m has been arrested in Manchester, the Lufbra Echo can exclusively reveal. Pete Matthews was taken into custody in the early hours of this morning after insisting on autographing the breasts of an undercover police officer. The red head was "getting out of hand" after edging closer to the so far elusive 16 minute barrier for 5km at the National Cross Country Relays in Mansfield. The former GB International (Mountain Running) clocked an impressive 16:17 on the course, but now must face the increasing questions surrounding his inability to handle fame. Matthews is alleged to have spent much of the evening offering signed photographs (for a small fee) to everyone he came into contact with - none of whom had any idea who he was. The idea of "signed body parts" was only dreamt up when the Blackburn star had drunk "a significant volume" of alcohol, according to bystanders. Matthews is said to have insisted on calling some "big name athletes" to inform them of his arrest but had to leave answer phone messages after the calls were screened.

Matthews - who is rumoured to be appearing on the next series of ITV's Celebrity Fit Club - headed directly to Manchester after the race where he proclaimed himself to be "back in the game". Unfortunately, his night ended shortly after 1am when he was led away and forced to call in his legal team to get him out of this latest scandal. "He hasn't been released yet," said an insider "apparently he is going to be charged with assaulting a police officer. He's upbeat though and says that prison life will do wonders for his weight loss." The arrest comes at the end of a difficult week for the disgraced AAAs fraudster who found out only yesterday that he would not be included in the latest wave of UK Athletics funded athletes. His publicist, Max Clifford, stated that it was "UKA's loss" at the time and has pledged to stand by his man in the coming weeks. "It's going to be tough, but I'll be there for him," said Clifford, "the guy is clearly a flawed genius. You look at the exceptional people in this world and they all have problems- just look at Paul Gascoigne. Let's get behind him and help the lad through it." 

KENYA LATEST: DONALDSON TOUCHES DOWN IN AFRICA

MATTHEWS OFF THE RAILS AGAIN