President George W. Bush will not skip the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing to protest the Chinese government crackdown on protestors in Tibet, according to a senior US official.

Ambiguous comments from the White House sparked speculation on Tuesday that Mr Bush might be considering a boycott of the opening ceremony. Asked several times whether the president was considering attending only the sporting events, Dana Perino, White House spokeswoman, replied: “I would not put it that way”.