A female employee of the Olympic Park Legacy Company has been suspended for undertaking paid consultancy work for West Ham United, winners of the London 2012 stadium takeover bid.

A spokesperson for the Legacy Company said: “The Company had no knowledge of this work and no permission was given to undertake it.”

The spokesperson added the woman, who has not been named, had declared a personal relationship with a West Ham United employee when she joined the Legacy Company.

West Ham were awarded the tenancy of the Olympic Stadium at Stratford by the Company earlier this year.

Robust measures, the Company said, had been put in place to ensure the stadium process was not compromised and the woman had no involvement whatsoever in the bid decision.

“The stadium team has been based at our law firm Eversheds’ offices in The City and only the stadium team had access to information about the bids, “ said a Legacy company statement.

An independent investigation has been launched by the Company into the episode. The employee has been suspended pending the outcomes of this.