LONDON (AP) — A London city watchdog has slammed the committee organising the 2012 Olympics for its ticket policy, arguing that the secrecy surrounding the allocation of Olympic tickets has undermined 
public confidence.

The 25-member London Assembly, which acts as a check on London Mayor Boris Johnson, challenged Olympic organisers on Thursday to give more information on its ticket allocations in a report labeled “Sold Out?” The London Olympic organizing committee — called LOCOG — is a private entity, and the assembly complained that means it is exempt from Freedom of Information laws which could be used to force a handover of the data.

“It is completely unacceptable that an organisation that only exists because of a huge investment of public money can hide behind its status as a private company to avoid questions it does not like,” said Dee Doocey, head the committee that wrote the report. “For most people, the games will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so it’s vital they have confidence in the ticketing process, particularly those who have missed out on tickets.”

London Olympic organisers said they would respond to the assembly’s request when ticket sales are done.

London’s Olympic ticketing process has been dogged by repeated computer problems and huge demand. Organisers set up a complicated lottery system in which people blindly registered for tickets and handed over their credit card details to pay for them before they knew what — if any — tickets they were getting.

A majority of ticket seekers failed to get any in the first-round sale that ended in April — with 22 million requests coming in for the 6.6 million tickets available in prices that ranged from 20.12 pounds ($31.60) to 2,012 pounds ($3,159). Further rounds were blighted by computer problems, and plans for future ticket sales have failed to stem public grumbling.

As the July 27-Aug. 12 Summer Games draw near, the ticket allocations for sponsors are likely to come under even greater scrutiny for they give the impression that the wealthy and connected get special treatment.

But more is at stake than dashed expectations. Britain faces tough economic times, and British taxpayers are putting up 9.3 billion pounds ($14.6 billion) for games that most will be unable to attend. Critics have charged that millions are being spent to build stadiums and provide security for the event — only for the public to be shortchanged.