"Security will not be compromised", insists Coe

By Andrew Warshaw

July 15 - London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe insisted today that security at the Games will still be totally reliable despite contractors G4S admitting they cannot meet their obligations, forcing the military to be drafted in (pictured left).

G4S last week revealed it could not provide the required numbers of guards at the Olympics but Coe says the shambles should not be overplayed even though London 2012 is less than two weeks away.

"Security has not been compromised," he said.

"This is not about numbers, this is just about the mix, we will have a safe and secure Games.

"Would I prefer not to be dealing with this two weeks out?

"The answer of course is yes, but we will work very hard and we will remedy this."

Coe declined to give details of any penalty clauses in the contract with G4S except to confirm that the company will lose between £30 million ($47m/€38m) and £50 million ($78m/€64m).

"They will be compensating the armed services for that extra work," Coe told BBC's Sportsweek programme.

"All our contracts are very robust.

"The reality that when G4S expected people to materialise they simply didn't, we moved very quickly to stem that gap.

"There has always been an understanding that the military would be playing a role, there has never been any doubt about that."

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