G4S chief Nick Buckles has been called in by the Home Affairs Select Committee to explain his company’s failure to provide enough security staff for the London 2012 Olympics, after he had promised to “overshoot” his target. Last week, Buckles had told Home Secretary Theresa May that G4S would not be able to honour its contract. The Home Secretary had to call in military forces to make up for the…

US-born Kerron Clement, two-times world 400 metres hurdles champion, got a bad first impression of London city on Monday as the bus taking him to the Olympic Village struggled to find its destination for four hours. The champion was one among hundreds of athletes who arrived from across the world this morning to participate in the prestigious Games. Clement tweeted, “Um, so we’ve been lost on the road for 4hrs….

US fast food giant McDonald’s has bagged the exclusive rights to sell French fries and chips during the 2012 London Olympics, implying that none of the other 800 participating retailers can sell French fries in the 40 Olympics sites during the fortnight of the Games. Other caterers are allowed to sell chips with fish, but not chips alone or chips with any other item. But if spectators wish to eat…

The government has asked assistance from armed forces to deploy around 3,500 extra troops to guard the London 2012 Olympics, amid concerns that the private security contractor G4S might not be able to supply 10,000 security personnel that it promised. Around 23,700 security guards will protect the Olympic venues as part of Britain’s biggest peacetime security operation, and 13,500 military personnel have already been earmarked to participate in the programme.

BAA, the airport operator, has questioned the recent immigration queues at Heathrow Airport, which have been too long, with some passengers standing far outside the immigration hall, only to encounter empty passport control desks and uninterested staff. On Friday passengers at Terminal 4 were stuck in half-mile queues, starting long before they even got to the immigration hall. They said that once they got there, two out of three desks…

LOCOG, the Olympics organising committee, has disclosed that more than 80% of all Olympics tickets, which is around seven million, have been sold. LOCOG said excluding football, 90% of all tickets had been sold. While several thousands of tickets are yet to be made available, most tickets were remaining for volleyball, boxing, weightlifting and basketball. There had been a small trickle of returned tickets including one or two pairs of…

MPs have urged tourists visiting some of the most alluring landmarks in central London to steer clear of a group of con artists who are reportedly running a racket of illegal gambling games on Westminster Bridge to fool unsuspecting people. There could be as many as nine separate gangs involved in illegal gambling at one of London’s most iconic establishments next to the Parliament building, a report claimed today, revealing…

Jonathan Evans, director-general of the security service MI5, has warned that young British men are heading to new terror training grounds in North Africa and the Middle East, to train for attacks on the UK. The head of the intelligence agency said the terror group is establishing itself in those countries after being disrupted in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “A small number of British would-be jihadis are also making their way…

London bus drivers’ union has threatened to continue to strike unless the government accepts their deal for more bonus to work during 2012 London Olympics. On Friday, thousands of bus drivers and employees of 17 bus companies staged a one-day walk-out in pursuit of a claim for a £500 bonus during the Olympics, causing travel chaos across the capital. A High Court injunction prevented three bus companies from the strike….

Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, will deliver a lecture to West Yorkshire business leaders as he begins his tour of the UK. Thubten Samdup, representative of the Dalai Lama, proclaimed the speech will be “a wonderful opportunity for Yorkshire’s business leaders to hear a distinctive message of ethics and morality from one of the world’s most revered spiritual leaders”. The Nobel Peace Prize…