FURTHER DELAYS FOR WEMBLEY

More building delays have hit Wembley Stadium - meaning it now will not be completed until 2007. Construction firm Multiplex had already fallen behind schedule which scuppered plans to open the new venue in May this year with the FA Cup final.

It hoped to finish the £757million stadium in September - but now the Australian building company cannot even guarantee Wembley will be available for the 2007 final.

In a statement yesterday, Multiplex revealed it had applied for a time extension to October next year.

And the company insisted it isn't responsible for the latest problems. Bosses are blaming Wembley National Stadium Limited for not doing "certain works" which they claim have caused the latest delays.

A Multiplex source said: "We are pretty much running to schedule and would still be able to get it finished by the September date - but there are a whole host of things that still need to be done by Wembley Stadium Ltd before we can sign off the job. There is no radio control system in place, and they haven't even designed the police control room yet.

"They have not installed a single BT phoneline, nor are there any cash machines or CCTV cameras.

"Once they complete the installation, we do the finishing touches and reach 'practical completion', where we hand over the keys."

But Wembley Stadium chief executive Michael Cunnah hit back: "We refute any claims that they make against us.

"The delays experienced on the stadium have and continue to be under the complete control and responsibility of Multiplex.

"Although the stadium appears to be nearly finished, Multiplex has an important and substantial amount of work to complete, including the installation, testing and commissioning of mechanical and electrical systems.

"Wembley Stadium took the sensible decision in March to rule out all events at the stadium in 2006 as we were sceptical of Multiplex's ability to meet the various deadlines they have given us.

"The situation remains the same. Multiplex need to make more progress in delivering the stadium before we can name an opening date."