Dalai Lama rubbishes China's 'routine' threat to pull out Olympic team from Leeds training camp over his visit

London - The Dalai Lama has dismissed a threat by China to pull its Olympics team out of a training camp in Leeds as "almost routine" in response to his recent visit to the West Yorkshire city.

The 76-yr-old Tibetan spiritual leader's comments came before he addressed the Yorkshire International Business Convention.
 
 "That is always happening, that is almost like routine," the BBC quoted Dalai Lama, as saying.

It believed that Chinese officials had asked the Leeds City Council to put pressure on the organisers to cancel the Dalai Lama's visit.
 
Although the council distanced itself from the business convention, it said it was aware of "sensitivities" around the event at which the Dalai Lama discussed business ethics.

Chinese Olympic officials selected Leeds as the country's training base last August.