SECURITY PROBLEMS: SECURITY COMPANY G4S's attempts to charge the London Olympics a £57 million management fee, despite failing to supply thousands of guards, came under fire yesterday from British prime minister, David Cameron.
Questioned during a one-day visit to Afghanistan, Mr Cameron vowed that the British government would “go after” the firm, which has suffered catastrophic damage to its reputation and major falls in its share price since its failures were announced.
“Let’s be clear, if G4S don’t fulfil their contract we will go after them for the money to make sure that they help pay for the military personnel that have been brought in,” Mr Cameron told travelling reporters.
However, the British Government does not want embattled G4S chief executive Nick Buckles to quit – at least not now: “What happens to Mr Buckles is a matter for others in a post-Games environment,” said Olympics minister Hugh Robertson.
“The important thing is that we deliver a safe and secure Games, and G4S remain a key partner in that, so I want stability at that firm, and delivery. I don’t want resignations causing chaos,” he said yesterday evening.
Penalty clauses in the contract agreed between G4S and the London Olympic organisers are already expected to cost the company between £35 million and £50 million, but this figure could escalate if significant extra numbers of staff do not turn up.
The company received applications from 100,000 and interviewed 50,000, but those selected have complained that they have no communications from the company since they went for training months ago.
Meanwhile, the quality of the staff hired has raised questions in some quarters, with police sources saying that some new recruits failed to identify basic items, such as knives, in test-drills carried out at a number of sites in recent days.
Earlier this week, British home secretary Theresa May ordered the deployment of 3,500 soldiers to security duties inside the Olympic Park in east London, while a further 2,000 are expected to be formed into a special reserve “available for duty anywhere at short notice”.
The political fallout from the G4S controversy has been very damaging for the Conservatives/ Liberal Democrats coalition, senior government figures fear, particularly in the wake of mounting attacks upon their competence.
Mr Cameron said: “I think the responsibility should be for G4S to make sure that their people are there to provide enough security. But the army are playing a vital role. Be in no doubt whatever it takes to provide a safe and secure Olympic Games, we will do it.”
Meanwhile, two recently recruited G4S staff have been arrested on suspicion of being illegal immigrants after security checks at a football ground in Coventry, one of the stadiums hosting Olympic football matches.
The arrests of a 21-year-old man on Wednesday and a 24-year-old yesterday were made by the UK Borders Agency: “These arrests show that the accreditation checks at the City of Coventry stadium are working as planned,” it said last night.
