Andrei Lugovoi, named by Britain as a suspect in the killing of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko in London, today claimed the UK’s special services tried to recruit him.
At a press conference in Moscow, which he organised, Mr Lugovoi repeated his denials of involvement in Litvinenko’s death.
British special services “asked me to collect compromising information on [the Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin”, he said, according to a translation by the Russia Today television channel.
– The Guardian
Security guards will be able to search pupils for knives at the school gates without their consent under government guidance to be published today. Schools will also be able to use security arches and metal detector wands when they search pupils for violent weapons.
Legislation passed last year giving teachers power to search pupils for knives and other offensive weapons without consent comes into effect today. But guidance to headteachers from the Department for Education and Skills, published for the first time today, shows how schools can use the new powers. It makes plain that screening and searching can be carried out by professionally trained security staff, as well as teachers. However, it adds that where there is any risk to safety, police should be called.
– The Times
Private security contractors gained popular notoriety for coining money out of the invasion of Iraq. Without them, though, the number of coalition troops in the country would have been significantly higher. And since the peak of the market in 2004, they have faced greater dangers than ever and reduced financial returns, according to experts in the field.
“It’s certainly more dangerous. The number and the sophistication of attacks have risen, as has the level of information the terrorists have regarding our activities,” said Jonathan Garratt, ma-naging director of Erinys, which has about 1,000 security personnel in Iraq, main-ly on US government contracts. Insurgent groups have had four years to monitor the way private security companies conduct their activities, and adjust their own operations accordingly. As a result, most companies advise clients to travel only when necessary. Companies try to avoid establishing a pattern of behaviour, travel at different times and use different routes with different vehicles.
– The Financial Times
Four of the five British hostages kidnapped in Iraq worked for a private security firm. A former special forces soldier who returned from Baghdad earlier this week tells Audrey Gillan about his life as a ‘private security detail’ operating in one of the most dangerous cities in the world. He is 42 and lives in Surrey. He has asked to remain anonymous.
– The Guardian
The war in Iraq heralded a boom in the number of private companies offering outsourced consultancy and security, paying their workers high salaries to face extreme danger every day.
Private Military Companies (PMCs) – widely known as mercenaries – take on work which was previously the domain of the military and provide services including defence functions, military training and security. With contracts worth billions of pounds, it is a lucrative and rapidly expanding market.
– The Telegraph
