London Mayor Sadiq Khan criticised government plans to explore a bid for the north of England to host the Olympic Games in the 2040s, saying excluding the capital would be a missed opportunity. Ministers have commissioned an assessment by UK Sport that could inform a bid for the international sporting event, which if successful would be the first time the Olympic Games and Paralympics were hosted in Britain since London 2012.

A spokesperson for Khan said: "London is the sporting capital of the world and the mayor has openly expressed his ambition for the capital to be part of a future Olympic and Paralympic Games." The spokesperson added: "Sadiq believes that a potential country-wide bid, using all the assets we have in the UK, including the publicly owned London Stadium, would deliver the very best possible Olympics."

"Not including the capital in an Olympics bid would be a missed opportunity, and mean our country fails to unleash the full benefits of a UK-wide games," the spokesperson said. Khan said last year that he wanted the Olympic Games to return to the capital.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, the MP for Wigan, welcomed the plans. "London 2012 showed what the Olympics can do for our country. It inspired a generation through sport, attracted huge investment and showed the best of Britain to the world," she said. "But while the north of England has driven so much sporting excellence, no matter the talent we produce, the sporting moments we create, and the world-class events we attract, for too long we have been told the Olympics is simply too big and too important to be hosted in the north." Nandy added: "Not any more. It's time the Olympics came north and we showed what we can offer to the world."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves, the MP for Leeds West and Pudsey, said "Britain's sporting prowess was recognised and respected around the world." She added: "It's something we are determined to capitalise on to breathe life into our communities and build a stronger and more secure economy. That's why we're throwing our full support behind bringing the Games back home which will boost our northern growth corridor. It's also why we're backing stadium regeneration plans, like at Elland Road, to deliver new homes, business opportunities and public spaces in Leeds and beyond."

The strategic assessment will examine the costs, the socioeconomic benefits to the north, and the bid's chance of success. The government also introduced a sporting events bill to parliament aimed at making it easier to bid for major sporting events, and appointed the Labour peer Lord McConnell, a former Scottish first minister who campaigned to take the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014, as a ministerial adviser on soft power and major events.

In February, a group of northern political leaders urged the government to ensure any future Olympic bid would be based in the region, claiming there was a compelling case and that the area already had many of the foundations in place, including elite sporting venues, major stadia and arenas. Liverpool's Albert Dock and the River Mersey have been suggested as possible hosts for sailing events, with the Lake District potentially used for open-water swimming. The International Olympic Committee is more open to multi-city or regional bids to reduce costs and the need for spending on new infrastructure.