The blue riband disability sporting competition outside the Paralympic Games is arguably the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Athletics Championships and Robertson (pictured above) said Britain is looking to stage the event in 2017 back-to-back with the 2017 able-bodied World Athletics Championships, which London was awarded last year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

"When we were making the 2017 World Athletics Championships bid last year, we looked very closely at the interrelations between bidding for that and the Paralympic World Athletics Championships," Robertson told insideworldparasport.

"One thing I have made a particular priority in my time as Minister, is trying to secure major sporting events in this country in the period after the Olympics and Paralympics so this doesn't become the bookend.

"It is vital to keep this rolling on for the next seven or eight years beyond London 2012.

"Disability sport is an absolutely key element of that.

"This isn't just about the United Kingdom getting able-bodied football championships and able-bodied athletics championships, important though they are.

"It is about a whole range of sports and Paralympic sport has a vital part to play."


Robertson also said that he backs South African double leg amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius (pictured above) competing in the Olympics at London 2012.

Pistorius was named in the South African Olympic team earlier this month but whether he should be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes has long been a source of controversy.

"I think the more integration there is between Olympic and Paralympic sport, the better," Robertson said.

"That is generally my starting point.

"There are some complicated technical issues around this that I am neither qualified to comment on nor particularly wish to get involved with.

"But the general principle that we should integrate Olympic sport as greatly as possible with Paralympic sport has to be the right one."

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