G4S fiasco costs the UK firm £50m

The security firm issued a statement saying it was “deeply disappointed”, and accepted its “responsibility” for the additional cost of the increased military deployment.

“We accept that we underestimated the task of supplying staff for the Olympics. We deeply regret that, and we’re deeply disappointed,” said Chief Executive Nick Buckles.

“Basically we were recruiting a large number of people, and they’re all working through a process of interview, training, two or three different degrees of training, licensing, accreditation.

“As they were getting ready for deployment, over a period of time, it’s only when you get closer and close to the Games that you realise the number isn’t as high as you expect”, he said.

It comes as the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee announced it will summon G4S, Locog, the Home Office and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to answer questions about the problems in September.

Committee chair Margaret Hodge has called for “real transparency” from the security firm.

“If you use public money, through private companies, to fund public services, taxpayers have a right to know how that money’s been spent,” she said.

“In my view both the government and the contractor and Locog are involved in this. They should be much more transparent with the way in which they contract the private contractors, and I don’t think it’s fair to pass the blame just to G4S. I think that blame is shared by everybody”, she added.

MOL/HE

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