More troops on Olympics standby (From Essex County Standard)

More troops on Olympics standby

5:11pm Thursday 19th July 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

Another 1,200 troops have been put on standby to provide Olympics security as the fallout from the G4S chaos continued.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the numbers of staff provided by the company were rising, and there was currently no need to deploy more military personnel.

But he added: "As we have said, we must prepare for every contingency.

"We are therefore putting an additional 1,200 troops on standby, reducing their notice to move from seven days to 48 hours. They will remain in their current locations but can be called on if we need them during the coming weeks. We hope that will not be necessary but this is a sensible precaution."

Ed Miliband has called for G4S to be blocked from getting new Government contracts in the wake of the Olympics security shambles. The Labour leader said no more deals should be signed until a review had been carried out to ensure the firm was fit to provide services.

He also accused the coalition of opening the door to private companies carrying out core police roles. "People want bobbies on the beat, not G4S," he said. "We need to be much clearer about what private companies should and should not do."

The comments came as Mr Miliband launched Labour's campaign for Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections in central London. He insisted it "beggared belief" that G4S was trying to cling on to a £57 million management fee for Olympics security.

But he refused to call for the immediate resignation of chief executive Nick Buckles, suggesting the Games needed stability. Mr Miliband said: "Clearly the company will have serious questions to answer about new leadership (after) the Olympic Games."

Olympics Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "The Government has been working closely with Locog and G4S on security arrangements. We have moved quickly to activate our contingency plans and we will continue to do whatever it takes to provide a safe and secure Games.

"There will be no additional costs to the taxpayer as a result of the recent problems with G4S, and under their contract the company will be subject to penalties for failing to deliver - including against their £57 million management fee."