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England denies Games pullout

Press reports that England are poised to withdraw from next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi over security fears were denied on Wednesday by Games officials here and in India.

The Daily Telegraph, quoting unnamed sources, said police and security advisers fear the England team will be targeted by Pakistani militants and feel the safety of athletes cannot currently be guaranteed.

There is therefore "virtually no chance" of England sending a team, in what would be the first time that England has not competed in the 80-year history of the Games, to be held in New Delhi in October, said the paper. But Commonwealth Games England chief Ann Hogbin said: "That is definitely not the case. Our current and strong intention is to field a team for the Games in Delhi next year.

"Of course, we have a duty of care to the athletes and other team members which we take very seriously. "Despite having been given extensive briefings from relevant authorities we have not received any indication that we should not participate in the Games and we will continue to work hard to put in place the best possible arrangements for our team."

Responding to the Telegraph report, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it "has not advised any of the British teams" against competing in the Games. "We are aware that the Commonwealth Games Federation had some concerns about preparations for the Games," it added in a statement.

"We continue to work closely with the Indian authorities who are doing everything they can to ensure a safe and secure Games." In New Delhi Indian Games officials insisted that all countries involved in the event were satisfied with the security arrangements despite a host of militant attacks in recent years, most notably an assault on Mumbai last year that left 166 people dead. "The security commanders meeting was held at the home ministry recently and all Commonwealth Games Associations were satisfied with the security arrangements," top Games official Suresh Kalmadi said in a statement.

The 70,000-member Delhi Police, which is responsible for providing overall security, said it has already briefed the organisers of the October 3-14 event, which involves 6,000 international athletes competing in 17 sports.

The Telegraph report comes after the England badminton team pulled out of the world championships in India in August, saying security in the host city of Hyderabad was lax, and sparking criticism that they were overreacting.

Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, visited the Indian capital earlier this month to inspect the Games sites and was said to have voiced "serious concerns" about the security arrangements, the newspaper said. LONDON, AFP.

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