London 2012 security operation investigating 500,000 people - The Guardian
The backgrounds of up to 500,000 people are being scrutinised in an unprecedented security screening designed to stop the Olympic Games being disrupted by criminals or terrorists, the Guardian has learned.
In what is understood to be the biggest vetting process since the second world war, the Home Office has so far refused about 100 applications for Games accreditation, mostly because of concerns about the extent of people's criminal records.
However, some people have been denied accreditation on the advice of MI5, which has to assess whether a person might pose a significant threat to national security.
The 500,000 figure includes anyone seeking employment at the Games, as well as athletes, coaches and officials from more than 200 competing nations.
The Guardian has been told the threshold for refusing accreditation has been set high, which means some of those working at the Olympics this summer will have "come to the notice of" the police or MI5 in the past.
"To be rejected, they have to pose a significant potential threat to the safety of the Games," said a source. "They won't be rejected on the basis that information is held about them.
"A judgment has to be made, not on the basis that there is an official record, but does this person pose a significant threat to security."
Police and MI5 have been taking a careful look at all those who may end up working at the Olympic sites. It is an obvious way for would-be terrorists to gain access to venues, and police are aware that terrorists may masquerade as casual workers looking for temporary jobs.
However, those involved in the security of the Games say they have found no evidence so far that al-Qaida sympathisers have tried to infiltrate the civilian workforce.
The vetting process began in earnest last October and officials are more than two-thirds of the way through the process, which is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.
It has been one of the core tasks of counter-terrorism officials but the scale of the operation, and the depth of the checks required, has made it a drawn-out affair.
Among those still to be vetted are many of the 10,000 security guards who will be employed by G4S, the private firm which is contributing 23,700 personnel at the Olympic venues.
A big recruitment drive was launched by G4S when the number of guards it was expected to provide grew from 2,000 to 10,000, after it emerged that the Games organisers, Locog, had seriously underestimated the number required. The 70,000 volunteers recruited by Locog, who are considered crucial to the success of the Games, are also being screened.
Home Office officials said that many of the 10,500 athletes taking part in the Games and those accompanying them were used to travelling to international events and were unlikely to pose any security problems.
There remain outstanding questions surrounding a handful of high-profile individuals, including members of the Syrian Olympic committee with close links to the Assad regime.
It is believed that discussions are continuing over whether to bar General Mofwaq Joumaa, the president of the Syrian national Olympic committee, from entering the UK.
Scotland Yard and MI5 are understood to have hundreds of investigations "live", with the Olympic security operation likely to reach a new pitch as teams arrive for training before the event.
It is understood that the security service has not set up a separate Olympic security unit, believing it would be wrong to draw a distinction between terrorism and Olympic terrorism.
The security service is said to be bracing for a possible deluge of intelligence from foreign police forces and intelligence agencies, who will not want to sit on any information just in case it reveals a potential threat to the Games. MI5 remains confident it will be able to cope, and the Home Office said it will leave nothing to chance when it comes to security.
"We are undertaking stringent checks on all those seeking accreditation," a Home Office spokesman said. "This rigorous process has been designed to ensure those working at the Games are fit to do so. We will leave nothing to chance in our aim to deliver a safe and secure Games that London, the UK and the whole world will enjoy."
London 2012: Team GB athletes will learn anthem - head coach - BBC News
GB athletes will know the words to the national anthem before the London Games, UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee says.
The Dutchman believes the step is necessary to head off potential criticism over "plastic Brits" - athletes who have switched allegiance to represent Team GB at the Olympics.
Van Commenee said: "They know the words, or they will.
"If they don't somebody will make an issue of it."
The 53-year-old added: "(Whether it should matter), that's a different question.
"I'm not going to rehearse everybody because we have 90 athletes, but people that matter... let's say the relevant ones, the ones on your radar (will rehearse the anthem)."
Van Commenee's choice of United States-born Tiffany Porter as team captain for the World Indoor Championships in March sparked the row after she declined to sing God Save the Queen at a news conference ahead of that meeting.
Porter, who qualifies for Britain through her London-born mother and has held a British passport since birth, said she knew the words but questioned her singing ability.
London 2012 - Badminton ace Robertson retires - Yahoo! Eurosport
Nathan Robertson, one of an elite group of England players to make more than 100 international appearances, has retired.
The 2006 world mixed doubles champion and 2004 Olympic silver medallist, both with Gail Emms, brought down the curtain two weeks after winning his 114th England cap at the Thomas Cup Finals in China.
Robertson, 35, made his first England appearance in 1995 and with his latest mixed doubles partner, Jenny Wallwork, had recently climbed to number 17 in the world, narrowly missing selection for the London Olympics.
The former world number one in mixed doubles and number four in men's doubles said: "I've had a fantastic career in a sport that has given me so much."
Emms, now promoting the sport as an ambassador with Badminton England, said: "Without a doubt in my mind, Nathan is the best badminton player that Britain has ever produced."
Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy said: "I am already speaking with Nathan with regards to keeping him involved in the sport in the same way we have with Gail. They are priceless assets to Badminton England."
Robertson carried the England flag at the 2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. On July 25 he will run a leg of the Olympic torch relay.
London 2012: MI5 expects wave of terrorism warnings before Olympics - The Guardian
The digital clock in the foyer of Thames House, the headquarters of MI5, is a constant reminder to visitors and staff of the security service's main priority over the coming weeks.
At first it was set to count down to zero, to coincide with the arrival in the UK of the Olympic torch in May. It has now been reset to a date nearer the start of the Games in London next month.
Leave has been deferred so the agency has a full complement of staff. Some non-essential duties, such as training, are likely to be suspended so there are extra bodies on hand during the busiest periods of the summer.
The Olympics has already proved a huge test for MI5, just as it has for Scotland Yard's anti-terrorist branch.
The threat to the UK is more diffuse now than four or five years ago, which reflects the disintegration of al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the scattering of extremists to places such as Yemen and, to a degree, Somalia.
With less infrastucture to rely upon, there has been a growth in the phenomenon of the "lone wolf" terrorist – homegrown self-starters, some of whom have researched how to become a terrorist by reading Inspire, the online magazine published by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Inspire has essentially told its followers to get on with it, rather than waiting to be asked or trained.
The loners are far harder to identify, but the police and MI5 are also aware of hundreds of networks in the UK and abroad, a small number of which pose a credible, if not immediate, terrorist threat. Some of them have been trying hard to launch an attack here over the last five years without success, and the question facing investigators is whether they can realistically try any harder for the Olympics, when security will be far tighter than usual.
Security, that is, around the Olympic village and at the venues. If there is a group out there plotting an attack, or a loner with a gun considering a rampage, they would not have to pick a sporting arena to disrupt the Games – an attack anywhere in the UK would have a huge impact.
Liaising with a myriad of other agencies across the world has been a big task: keeping them up to date with security plans in the UK, reassuring those with extra concerns – with the US and Israel thought to be chief among them – and cajoling others who should have them. Giving advice to the Home Office about who can be given security accreditation for London 2012 has involved sifting through 500,000 domestic and foreign applications – another monumental effort.
MI5 has been in a period of expansion and transition, which has coincided with, and to some extent been accelerated by, the need to protect the Games.
The security service has not recruited extra people specifically for the event because it was growing anyway after the 9/11 and 7 July attacks. Its staff of more than 3,500 means it has doubled in size in a decade, and numbers will be supplemented further with help from MI6, the secret intelligence service, and GCHQ.
The Guardian understands that MI5 has not set up a specific Olympics unit because it believes the systems it has in place are robust enough, and that it would be wrong to draw a distinction between terrorism and Olympic terrorism. Improvements in investigating methods and updates to IT systems are said to have made a real difference.
Scotland Yard and MI5 remain hopeful that the likelihood of an atrocity remains low, but as the weeks pass, they acknowledge that attitudes to risk will inevitably change. Managing these "collapsing timescales", as investigators call them, are likely to test officers to the limit, even if no specific plots are found.
In the days before the Olympics start, their teams are likely to be deluged with extra intelligence from foreign agencies, who will feel less inclined to vet potential information before it is passed on. The network of MI5 agents in the UK may also start to provide more intelligence too, for the same understandable reasons. The front end of this intelligence funnel has been expanded to cope with the extra material, with all the usual criteria applied; is the intelligence specific, is it credible, who is the source, and just as importantly – is there anything that can be done with it?
This "triage" process will help to distil the reports, and if there is any lingering concern, the police, MI5 – and potentially the Crown Prosecution Service – will have difficult judgments to make.Scotland Yard and the security agencies can convene executive liaison groups to discuss the most serious potential threats.
The questions they will have to ask include, can we let this situation run any longer? What risks are we taking if we do? Should we disrupt and do we have enough evidence to arrest and charge?
Nobody is talking openly about them, but it is believed the number of the most serious potential threats does not appear to have increased in the last few months. But some still exist.
Over the last 10 months, the police have made a series of counter-terrorism arrests in places such as Luton and Birmingham, and more are likely to follow. The threat from international terrorism is currently rated as substantial – the third highest of five levels. This is set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, based within Thames House, though it is independent from MI5. When planning for the Olympics, it was presumed the level would be at the second highest available – severe.
If the threat level rises in the coming weeks, it will not be to keep people on their toes, sources say. It will go up because credible intelligence has emerged that is causing investigators immediate concern. That does not mean there is a specific plot afoot; but it might mean, with time running out, and risks to be managed, the police will make an early move. The police expect bomb hoaxes and stunts this summer, which will cause irritation. But if that is the sum of the disruption to the Games, then no one at Thames House or at New Scotland Yard will be too discomfited.
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