G4S failure will not affect Olympic security, says Lord Coe
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.London 2012 chairman Lord Coe insisted today that security would not be affected despite G4S's failure to provide enough security guards for Games venues.
Speaking at the first of many daily press briefings at the Olympic Park, Lord Coe said that although Games organisers Locog had been faced with a "challenge", they would continue to work with the company to sort things out.
He said: "The numbers really haven't changed, it's really simply about the mix of security on the park, at this very moment our teams are working alongside G4S to ensure that they deliver as many of those guards as they possibly can. We want to get as many of their teams out as we can. That's the right and appropriate thing to do.
"This is not a failure in numbers, we've got the numbers there. There's no compromise on security.
"We've got 4,000 G4S people on the Olympic Park, and let us work through this. It's much better to work through it. It's really about getting people out there, getting people that are trained, that have been interviewed, that have gone through the system on to the park and where we need them.
"I think we'll get them to a good position, and at the moment that is the challenge, but let's put this in proportion. This has not, nor will it, impact on the safety and security of these Games, that of course is our number one priority."
Asked whether he thought G4S chief executive Nick Buckles should resign, Lord Coe said: "It's not for me to make any judgments about that.
"Our task at the moment is really to help get to the position where they are able to deploy and mobilise all the people that are there to be mobilised and deployed."
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments