The leader of a parliamentary watchdog said that she was “staggered” that London 2012 organisers had managed to so dramatically underestimate the number of security personnel required to oversee the Olympic games, which could cause the cost of the Games to go way over its planned £9.3 billion budget.
Last December, the Government announced that the number of security guards London needed as part of Britain’s largest peacetime security operation had more than doubled to 23,700 from 10,000, causing a steep rise in the cost of services.
LOCOG, the body responsible for staging the games, and the Interior Ministry claimed that security planning had only been possible once the venues had been built and competition schedules put in place. However, public finance watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee, said it was “particularly concerned about the significant increases in the security bill.”
With the continued increase in security services London, The Public Accounts Committee said that only £100 million could be left in the Olympic reserves once potential risks had been taken into account.
