Sebastian Coe led a London charm offensive in Athens tonight as the battle to host the 2012 Olympic Games intensified.

BRITISH Olympic Association chairman Craig Reedie is frantically trying to salvage London’s faltering 2012 Olympic bid.

The International Olympic Committee were today forced to address the “dark and sordid side of sport” as allegations of corruption, the potential expulsion of two members and the on-going doping debate made for an eventful first morning at the Executive Board meeting in Athens.

The International Olympic Committee today provisionally suspended Bulgarian member Ivan Slavkov and rescinded his accreditation to the Athens Olympics following allegations of bribery made in a BBC Panorama documentary.