A £7 million study is to be launched to investigate whether northern England could host a future Olympic Games.

Chancellor John Healey will use Wednesday’s Budget to announce the full feasibility assessment for a potential Northern Games.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stated that an Olympics bid would be "something everyone can get behind".

An initial evaluation was commissioned from UK Sport in May, before Mr Burnham entered No 10, to look into a potential bid for the event in the 2040s.

Following that preliminary work, Mr Burnham’s government has allocated £7 million to conduct a complete assessment of a future Olympic and Paralympic bid, alongside a commitment to support UK sport.

The Prime Minister said: "Few things bring a country together quite like the Olympics. I want people to feel that sense of excitement again, and to experience it in their own towns and communities, not just watch it on the telly.

"The games would unlock opportunity across our towns and cities for the whole country.…