By Mihir Bose BBC Sports editor

Construction work continues on the Olympic Stadium in Stratford

The 2012 Olympic organisers are to use several hundred million pounds of the �2.7bn contingency fund due to a lack of private money, the BBC understands.

The credit crunch has caused a shortfall in private sector funding.

This use of the contingency will help with the construction of the village and media and broadcast centres.

When the 2012 funding plan was drawn up it was with the expectation there would be ample private money available but the government has now stepped in.

Some of the contingency set aside in the Olympic Budget has already been drawn down.

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The government argues this is what the contingency is there for and that the Budget is robust. But it was understood the contingency fund was meant to cover cost overruns, essential in a project with a fixed timetable, not lack of private money.

With security plans yet to be finalised, much, if not all of the contingency, may be needed to cover costs.

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