London, Nov 14 (ANI): The United States is reportedly planning to send 1000 of its security agents to the London Olympics after raising repeated concerns about the level of protection to be provided by the host city.
According to the Guardian, over 500 FBI agents will be among those brought from America to provide security for the nation's contestants and diplomats at the sporting event.
US officials have reportedly expressed deep unease that the UK has had to restrict the scope of anti-terrorism 'stop and search' powers and have made several requests for reassurance to their British counterparts.
The concerns are adding to the pressures on the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Locog), which is responsible for preparing and staging the event.
The paper said that the committee is attempting to resolve a potential crisis over venue security, after conceding it had underestimated the number of security guards needed at the 32 sites across the country.
Originally it had thought 10,000 guards would be enough, but after a review over the summer it now believes it will need up to 21,000.
According to the report, Washington will be supplementing its FBI personnel with an equal number of diplomatic security officials, some of whom will be armed.
Though the UK's Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has lowered the threat of attack to 'substantia,' the third level on the scale, western intelligence agencies remain wary.
In addition to the official American security entourage, the sponsors of the Games, including Coca-Cola, will have their own private security details, adding to the complexity of the policing operation, the paper said. (ANI)
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