Mayor of London Sadiq Khan backs Team GB Olympics parade amid doubts over celebration

Former rowing champion Sir Matthew Pinsent has heard rumours there will be no celebration

Andy Murray celebrates with his gold medal after winning the men's Olympic tennis singles final (Getty)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has thrown his weight behind efforts to secure a victory parade for triumphant athletes returning from the Rio Olympics.

It was a ray of light for those hoping for the event, after former rowing champion Sir Matthew Pinsent claimed he had heard it would not take place.

A failure to hold a parade, despite the hugely successful games for Team GB, would be a departure from previous Olympics when athletes were given the chance to celebrate on the streets with fans.

Quizzed over the issue today on BBC radio, Mr Khan said: "If I have my way, yes. We've got to talk to the Government of course and to the Olympic and Paralympian chiefs.

"What's important, we've obviously got the Paralympics coming up and I'm really excited about that as well, is that we celebrate our heroes returning from Rio."

Earlier this week Sir Matthew said he had "heard from two different sources today that there won't be a @TeamGB parade this year."

Meanwhile, former Labour sports minister Richard Caborn, told the Daily Mail that the event could even take place outside London.

He said: "People want the chance to celebrate the fantastic achievements of the team, and they will not understand if there is no opportunity for them to do that.

"But it should not just be another big event in London for the tourists - why shouldn't it be in Sheffield, or in Leeds, where people have been supporting the Brownlee brothers for years?"