UK Athletics and London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe have repeatedly expressed their desire to see the prestigious event come to the 2012 Olympic Stadium - tipped to host them as part of its long-term sustainability and legacy plan - but any bid almost certainly depends on financial support from the Government.

Robertson, who earlier this week said sport had received a "good settlement" in George Osborne's spending cuts, told insidethegames: "A decision on funding has only just been made so we need to sit down and look very carefully at exactly what we have got.

"I have always maintained that funding for elite athletes is my priority and that remains so ahead of anything else.

"But at this stage, I'm ruling nothing out.

"The key problem with the athletics remains the £25 million black hole at the centre of the bid.

"Sponsorship and ticket sales would obviously help cover some of those costs but there is still a chance there will be a big financial burden that the Government would be left to pick up.

"The issue also involves fairness and if we do this for one sport we will have every sport coming and asking for the same treatment.

"As the Sports Minister, I must be fair and I can't have one rule for one sport and a different rule for another.

"But we continue to explore different possibilities about how we can host the event in a way that makes economic sense."

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will vote on who hosts the championships at a meeting of its ruling council in Monte Carlo from November 19-20 with Beijing's 80,000 capacity Bird's Nest Stadium the only other bidder.



However, any London bid would be a strong contender with the IAAF expected to look favourably on a European bid.

The World Athletics Championships, which feature the sport's top stars such as Usain Bolt, would be one of the few events capable of filling the Olympic Stadium for athletics if it retains the running track and a capacity of 60,000, as envisaged under the joint bid from West Ham United and Newham Council.

Robertson said the issue will be one of his top priorities in the immediate future.

"We will be working on this a lot over the coming week and I will be speaking with UK Sport and the various other bodies to see what we can do about hosting the event," he said.

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