An official involved in Manchester's two failed Olympic bids has said some International Olympic Committee (IOC) members tried to make money out of visits to the city.

Graham Stringer, former leader of Manchester city council and now a member of parliament, has told the Times (London) that one IOC member had sought £12,000 reimbursement for money allegedly stolen from his hotel room.

"When we said we would get the police (to investigate the theft), he did not seem keen," Stringer said.

"Most of the negotiations were conducted with me and things became fairly fraught. The tune of the conversation was that the money should be replaced."

Stringer said another IOC member had his air fare paid in cash by Manchester when he had also had it paid by the IOC. "There was a long rigmarole and eventually we got our money back," he said.

The vice-president of the IOC, Switzerland's Marc Hodler, said yesterday he was undeterred by the storm which had arisen over his accusations of corruption in the Olympic movement.

"My feeling is that certain people were afraid of this affair and were intent on sweeping it all under the carpet. I wanted to put the pressure on," Hodler said.

The plot had earlier thickened after Hodler said he was under political pressure to tone down his attack for fear it could harm a Swiss bid for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.

Hodler explained that even if his allegations had kicked up a storm which might not win him many friends, he had done so because "quite simply, I do not want to be a member of a club with a bad reputation."

One agent working on bids is an IOC member, according to Hodler. "It's that which is serious, He has earned a lot over the past few years." Hodler would add only that the person concerned lived in Africa.

The IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch, has so far promised only to investigate allegations that Salt Lake City paid £500,000 in university scholarships to six relatives of IOC members as part of its 2002 campaign.

Several IOC members are now pushing for a change to the way Olympic host cities are selected. At present, all 114 voting members can visit bidding cities. But Samaranch is already suggesting that the IOC's 11-man executive board take on the selection process.