Mayor wades into 2012 footage row The official London 2012 Olympic logo was unveiled on Monday
Creators of footage promoting the 2012 Olympics should not be paid after it emerged it could trigger an epileptic seizure, London's mayor has said.
Ken Livingstone's comments came after a segment of the animated footage had to be removed from the organisers' website on the advice of experts.
He said the designer should not be paid a penny for the "catastrophic mistake".
Charity Epilepsy Action said it had received 18 calls from people who had suffered fits after watching the clip.
Ripple effect
The film, which was unveiled along with the logo for the London Games on Monday, is now being re-edited by London 2012.
Mr Livingstone said: "I wouldn't pay him a penny for having made such a catastrophic mistake.
The one thing most people know... about epilepsy is that flashing lights and flashing images can cause them problems
Simon Wigglesworth, Epilepsy Action
"Who would go into a firm like that again and ask them to do that work. This is a pretty basic thing."
Organisers said the footage concerned showed a "diver diving into a pool which had a multi-colour ripple effect".
The spokeswoman said: "We are taking it very seriously and are looking into it as a matter of urgency."
After its release Prof Graham Harding, who developed the test used to measure photo-sensitivity levels in TV material, said it should not be broadcast again.
Simon Wigglesworth from Epilepsy Action said he was shocked at the choice of animation.
"The one thing most people know... about epilepsy is that flashing lights and flashing images can cause them problems.
"The reality is there is only about 5% of people with epilepsy for whom photosensitivity is an issue. That's still 23,000 people."
The new logo, which cost ?400,000 to develop, has also been heavily criticised and more than 38,000 people have signed an online petition to have it scrapped.
The BBC News website invited users to send in suggestions for alternative logos, and has so far received more than 500.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6727029.stm
Author