Locog chief says military personnel guarding Olympic venues will answer only to senior Games officials or the police
Military personnel deployed to guard Olympic venues this summer will not take orders from private security staff and will be answerable only to senior Games officials or the police, the head of the organising committee has said.
Speaking at the launch of a recruitment drive by the security firm G4S, which is seeking to take on at least 10,000 guards for the event, Paul Deighton, head of the London Games organising committee (Locog) said civilian and military security teams would work side by side but separately.
"The way we'll integrate is to give them discreet chunks of the activity," he said. While both G4S and military personnel might be in the same venue they would each take complete tasks, such as checking cars or searching bags.
Military guards would not take orders from G4S, he said.
"The chain of command on the ground all goes into our venue general manager, who is from Locog. There will be a G4S chain of command for private security, and a military chain of command, which get co-ordinated together," Deighton said.
If there is a security incident then control will be taken by the police, not the army, he added. G4S, however, will be responsible for rostering all staff to make sure enough are on duty.
Organisers announced in December that around 7,000 military personnel be on duty for the Games as part of an effort to expand the total security detail from 10,000 to nearly 24,000. G4S will recruit 10,000 or more temporary staff for this number, with the remainder coming from a recruitment scheme for students, and volunteers. The expanded numbers has seen the Olympics security bill almost double from £282m to £553m, a figure separate from the £600m within the Games budget for police provision outside the venues.
While military personnel would not automatically take more sensitive or skilled work – they will have the same training as the private staff – the separation of duties would inevitably mean some occasions or venues being predominantly guarded by the troops, said Deighton.
He confirmed they would wear uniform: "You'll know they are in the military. They'll be in military gear."
But echoing a pledge from the London 2012 chairman, Lord Coe, Deighton said this did not mean the security operation would appear overly intense or intrusive.
He said: "The way they'll do the job will be in a very efficient and welcoming way. It won't be intimidating. Remember, it's a sports event with a security overlay, not a security event with a bit of sport going on."
Thursday's event saw G4S formally opening their Games recruitment and training centre, based in a slightly crumbling former secondary school on a residential street near the Games compound in Stratford, east London.
Around 4,500 of the planned 10,000 guards had already been taken on, said Mark Hamilton, head of the firm's Olympics team. "In terms of our recruitment we're above target – we're doing very well," he said. Staff will earn a minimum of £8.50 an hour.
Recruitment is focusing in particular on the boroughs around the Olympic site, an area of significant deprivation. The opening of the centre marked a key moment in ensuring the Games brought a positive, longterm legacy to east London, Deighton said.
"We're switching from planning stuff to really doing it. This recruitment is the beginning of the process of the operational delivery, the massive mobilisation.
"The big promise of the Games, which we take incredibly seriously, was to deliver economic and social benefits to the host boroughs around the Olympic Park," Deighton said.
While the G4S jobs are temporary, staff will leave with a three-year security licence allowing them to take work elsewhere in the industry, and Deighton said he hope many recruits would use the event as a catalyst for their career.
"Jobs change lives. That's a big part of the economic and social legacy, and this is one of the biggest employment opportunities that the Games creates."