LONDON — Now the British military is being asked to “mind the gap” — in security.
London’s Olympic organizers reeled Friday from the fallout of revelations that 3,500 British soldiers — some of them just back from tours in Afghanistan — would need to step in and help guard venues for the upcoming Summer Olympics.
That’s because the security contractor, G4S, failed in its promise to deliver more than 10,000 security guards — and didn’t let anyone know until the last moment.
With two weeks to go before the games, the embarrassing development made organizers squirm. London games chairman Sebastian Coe, who has sailed on a cascade of positive news so far, tried to explain why the games’ sole security provider and a sponsor had produced such a mess.
“It’s only when the rubber hits the road that you understand some of things that you need (to) address,” Coe told reporters Friday. “When the rubber hit the road and we looked at some of the retention, some of the recruitment, … we made a very quick and very robust and prudent and judicious decision to act as we did.”
The problems started to emerge a few weeks ago. G4S failed to provide enough security guards when the stadium and the aquatics center were “locked down”— a process that involves putting in place the tightest security ahead of the games.
The government started asking questions, and as late as Wednesday, G4S was suggesting they could deliver. On Thursday, Home Secretary Theresa May faced lawmakers outraged about the debacle and the decision to send in more troops, bringing the total number of armed forces involved in the project to 17,000.
British authorities have planned for a threat level for the London games of “severe,” meaning an attack is “highly likely.”
