The veteran Labour MP, who was attending as a guest of Games broadcasters Channel 4, said he was told by a "stroppy and insensitive" official that he could not take up his allocated place because it was unsuitable for his dog, Cosby. Blunkett, who has been blind since birth, said he was eventually found an alternative seat behind the TV cameras "on a gantry exposed to an increasingly chill wind".

He said: "My experience shows how far society still has to go to change attitudes towards the challenges faced by people with disabilities."

A spokesman for the London organising committee, Locog, said: "We are looking into what happened with our venues team."