Exclusive: The BMA is renting out its headquarters to sports giant Nike during the Olympic Games, with the GPC forced to move its council meeting to Edinburgh as a result.
Nike has been renting part of the building since Monday, 16 July as part of a short-term tenancy agreement with the BMA during the Olympics, which runs until 17 August.
The move prompted the GPC to relocate its monthly council meeting on Thursday (19 July) to Edinburgh, as the usual meeting rooms at BMA House in Tavistock Square were unavailable.
Extra security measures have been implemented around the grade II-listed property, as Nike transforms part of the building into an athlete and media hospitality space.
But the BMA insisted that while its meeting rooms are occupied over the next four weeks, internal departmental meeting rooms are available as usual.
A BMA spokesperson said: ‘The summer period tends to be quieter at BMA House, so there is naturally less demand for meeting space than at other points of the year. For example, there is no GPC or BMA Council meeting in August as usual.
‘July's GPC meeting took place in Edinburgh, where it has been held in the past, as the meeting rooms usually used for this gathering were not available at BMA House.'
The BMA refused to reveal to Pulse how much it was receiving from Nike for the tenancy agreement.
A Nike spokesman said: ‘Nike will use parts of BMA House as an athlete and media hospitality space. Extra security measures are in place, but we can't reveal the exact details of these for obvious reasons.'
