Fears grow over terror threat to 2012 games

[richard]

Police carrying out covert testing of security around the Olympic Park have managed to smuggle a "bomb" onto the site on at least one occasion.

Dummy runs by London 2012 security staff have achieved a 90 per cent success rate in foiling attempts to smuggle devices into the site in Stratford, where the centrepiece Olympic stadium, velodrome and pool are based - meaning at least one attempt succeeded.

The disclosure underlines growing concerns over security at the games. Such is the level of threat that all of the Army’s explosive search dogs are likely to be recalled from duty in Afghanistan to boost the security operation.

One security official said: “The issue of explosive search dogs is crucial – they are the tools that will find the bombs, but we don’t have enough of them. We have around 30 and they can only work for 30 to 40 minutes before they get distracted or bored. From what I understand there will be virtually none left in Afghanistan – they will all be here.”

At the same time troops are to be used to search members of the public entering the Olympic and Paralympic site.

Armed forces personnel working 12 hours shifts will be used because not enough people have been recruited to assist private security operators and the police.

As many as 7,500 military personnel will assist 16,200 security guards inside the Olympic park, with 12,000 police and 6,000 more armed service personnel on the streets outside.

However, there are fears that the security operation will be overwhelmed by the complex logistics of trying to protect tens of thousands of athletes, spectators and VIPs over the six week event, which opens on July 27.

Some security experts believe the greatest risk will come away from the venues and at sites which enjoy a lower level of protection, such as mainline railway stations, London Underground or shopping centres.

An al-Qaeda style attack on such a target would not only cause death and injury, but also force the authorities to massively increase security at the Olympic Park to what is described as 'level two’.

That would lead to vehicles being banned from entering the park and all visitors being body-searched.

The increased measures would lead to even longer queues and potentially playing havoc with the timetable of events.

A security official said: “The real fear is that a single bomb somewhere in London a week or two before the games are due to begin will send security levels through the roof. Everyone will have to undergo a full body search, no vehicles will be allowed inside the Olympic park and it will take hours to get inside.”

Security officials are understood to be concerned about communications between the police, the 2012 games’s private security company G4S and the armed forces over what will happen in the event of a major incident.

A Whitehall source said: “Al-Qaeda historically have focused on transport network rather than events – but there is no room for complacency. We know dissident republican would like to disrupt the games – it is after all a world event. And there is always the prospect of an unknown self-contained AQ cell in the UK carrying an attack on their own.

“MI5 and the police are confident the games will proceed as per the schedule, but we have to be vigilant.”

Lord Carlisle, the former terror legislation watchdog, warned that terrorists could be tempted to target venues and locations away from the Olympics and that vigilance would have to be maintained throughout the UK.

“My concern is that we don’t displace so many people to Olympic venues that it leaves a risk elsewhere. Proper policing levels need to be maintained in other areas,” he said.

But Lord Carlisle welcomed the prospect of uniformed servicemen and women searching visitors to the games. He said: “It makes sense to use soldiers who have been trained in carrying out searches on civilians, in places like Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “The Metropolitan Police has provided support to the Olympic Delivery Authority’s assurance process that is being run at the Olympic Park. The ODA also runs its own security resilience tests to ensure that preparations for the London 2012 Games are as robust as possible.

The spokesman added: “There are very clear roles and responsibilities between the Met Police and Locog as the event organiser. These are the same as in the thousands of events held every year in the Capital, such as pop concerts and football matches. Locog are responsible for providing venue security and the Met will deliver our key policing responsibilities.”

The Home Office stated: “We have a robust safety and security strategy which is intelligence-led and risk-based. We want to reassure everyone that we will leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy.”

A spokesman for the Olympic Delivery Authority said: “Testing is standard practice in all major security operations. Such tests have a key role in developing our capability to ensure that London 2012 is safe and secure and that we are best prepared to detect potential threats before and during the Games.”

A London 2012 Organising Committee spokesman said: “The precise role of members of the armed forces is still being finalised. Locog will be conducting a series of tests on the Olympic Park in the run-up to the Games in order to meet all health and safety and licensing requirements.”


Source
By Patrick Sawer
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph