The British public's access to tickets for the London 2012 Olympics will be limited because of European Union competition law, the UK’s Telegraph paper has learned. The law raises serious concerns that the London venues will not enjoy the same sold out status as the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, with many local fans left ticketless.

On a political level there are moves to see if there is any possibility of reserving a percentage of tickets for the British public, but early indications are showing that any such move would contravene European Union Law.

Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (Locog), said on Tuesday:

"The reality is we signed the European Union act in 1971, we are part of the European political landscape and my instinct is that the tickets have to be made available to Europe at the same time as Britain.''

Locog is planning to allow British people to pre-register for tickets later this year. This will give organisers an idea of which will be the most popular but it will not provide any advantage in securing tickets.

When the London tickets are eventually released to the public next year, it will be via a ballot, with ticket orders being made through the internet over a yet to be determined period of time.

Coe said Locog had conducted the most rigorous research into ticket sales, "more than any other organising committee has done''.

Locog has already signalled to the International Olympic Committee that it wants to restructure some of the VIP areas that are reserved for the Olympic family and the media for some of the morning sessions, which in past Olympics have featured blocks of empty seats.

The Telegraph believes Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, has requested the Foreign Office to have a second look at the European Union competition law.

More at: