The US has raised repeated concerns about security at next year’s London Olympics and is preparing to send up to 1,000 of its agents, including 500 from the FBI, to provide protection for US athletes and diplomats, a report in the Guardian said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and other senior members of the Cabinet, including British Home Secretary Theresa May and British Culture and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt, are taking turns to chair security meetings about the Olympics, which are often dominated by the latest questions from the US, sources said.
However, Washington’s need for reassurance is exasperating British officials and anti-terrorism officials, who have privately raised concerns about the meddling, as well as the size of the US “footprint” in the UK during the games.
The friction is adding to the pressures on the London -Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), which is responsible for preparing and staging the event.
The Guardian reported that the committee is attempting to resolve a potential crisis over venue security, after conceding it had underestimated the number of security guards needed at the 32 sites across the country.
Originally it had thought 10,000 security personnel would be enough, but after a review over the summer it now believes it will need up to 21,000.
Venue safety is not the responsibility of the police, so the firm G4S was awarded the contract to find and train the initial group. The company will this week begin an advertising campaign to meet that target.
However, the organizing committee does not have the money to pay G4S to make up the shortfall, and does not believe the firm has enough time to do so, forcing ministers to turn to the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) for help.
The ministry has offered 3,000 soldiers, and another 2,000 in reserve — half the total required, though it is working within its own tight budget and the late request for help has irritated some officials.
“What have they been doing for the last five years?” asked one. “There is less than a year to go and they’ve only just realized they need twice the number of security guards they first thought. Where is the money to pay for this coming from? It is an extra burden on the defense budget that we could well do without.”
The problem will do little to reassure Washington, which will be supplementing its FBI personnel with an equal number of diplomatic security officials, some of who will be armed.
Though the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has lowered the threat of attack to “substantial” — the third level on the scale — Western intelligence agencies remain wary.
They know it is possible that al-Qaeda, or one of its affiliates, could attempt to disrupt the Olympics, with members of the US team being obvious targets.
The Home Office and Scotland Yard believe the UK has a robust security strategy, but this has not stopped US officials voicing their concerns.
One well-placed Whitehall source said the entire Olympic security operation was being prepared “with the US in mind.”
“The Americans are risk-averse, with a capital A and underlined. They want to see everything. We are not equal partners in this. They want to be on top of everything — building protection, counter--terrorism strategy and VIP security — everything,” another source said.
In addition to the official US security entourage, the sponsors of the games, including Coca-Cola, will have their own private security details, adding to the complexity of the policing operation.
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