Committee continues to investigate Olympic security

Labour MP Keith Vaz, the chairman of the Home Affairs Committee, has now written to the following individuals (on 18 July, to be precise) and called upon them to submit oral evidence on the following dates when Parliament has reconvened:

Tuesday 4 September

• Dame Helen Ghosh (permanent secretary, Home Office)
• Brian Moore (head, UK Border Force)
• Stephen Greenhalgh (London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime)
• Bernard Hogan-Howe QPM (Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner)
• Chris Allison MBE (assistant commissioner, Metropolitan Police Service)

Tuesday 11 September

• Nick Buckles (CEO, G4S)
• Theresa May MP (Home Secretary)
• Paul Deighton (CEO, London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games)
• Charles Farr OBE (director, Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism)

The Home Affairs Committee has also written to the Home Secretary to call for the report by HM Inspector of Constabulary into Olympic security, and to LOCOG to call for the report by the consultancy firm Deloitte into G4S’ work to date on the Olympics contract.

In addition, the Committee has written to LOCOG’s CEO Paul Deighton, James Brokenshire MP (the Minister for Crime and Security) and the Home Secretary requesting additional information.

Specifics of the requests being made

In his latest letter to the Home Secretary, the Home Affairs Committee chairman has asked for:

• the names and positions of those that sit on the Olympic Delivery Board
• the dates when this Board has met in the last 12 months
• a list of responsibilities for monitoring delivery over the course of the project
• dates of weekly meetings that Home Office officials attended with LOCOG and G4S
• dates of meetings that Home Office ministers attended with LOCOG and G4S
• a copy of HMIC’s reports on Olympic security published in September 2011 and March 2012

Writing to Theresa May’s Home Office colleague James Brokenshire, Vaz states: “I would be grateful if you could provide one piece of information at this stage. The date you were informed by G4S officials or LOCOG officials that G4S was unable to fulfil its obligation and provide the necessary number of people.”

Direct request to LOCOG’s CEO

In correspondence with LOCOG’s CEO Paul Deighton, the Home Affairs Committee chairman has asked Deighton to provide:

• a copy of the contract between LOCOG and G4S signed on 24 December 2010 and the Deed of Variation to the contract signed on 15 December 2011
• details on the number of security staff that will be available as of Tuesday 17 July 2012, broken down into G4S officers and also those for whom G4S holds management responsibility (eg LOCOG Games Makers, Bridging The Gap programme graduates and Armed Forces personnel)
• the number of weekly meetings that took place between G4S, LOCOG and the Home Office
• the dates when these meetings took place and the names and positions of those in attendance
• the data provided by G4S at these meetings
• the dates and minutes of the Venue Security Delivery Board meetings since they commenced in January 2012
• the dates of any further meetings that took place regularly between G4S, LOCOG and the Home Office
• a copy of the pay and conditions requirements for LOCOG contractors
• a copy of the Deloitte report (commissioned by and belonging to LOCOG)

Read more about Olympic Security here

Listen to the IFSEC Insider podcast!

Each month, the IFSEC Insider (formerly IFSEC Global) Security in Focus podcast brings you conversations with leading figures in the physical security industry. Covering everything from risk management principles and building a security culture, to the key trends ahead in tech and initiatives on diversity and inclusivity, the podcast keeps security professionals up to date with the latest hot topics in the sector.

Available online, and on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts, tune in for an easy way to remain up to date on the issues affecting your role.

Listen to the podcast today