Beckham to cut short Games visit as ex-England ace plans brief London stay - Daily Mail
By Sami Mokbel
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David Beckham is unlikely to stay in London for the entire Olympic Games as he focuses on LA Galaxy and Major League Soccer.
Beckham, 37, was a shock omission from Stuart Pearce's Team GB squad, despite playing a huge role in bringing the Olympics to Britain.
Snub: Beckham failed to make Stuart Pearce's 18-man squad for the Games
Lord Coe, chairman of the London Games organising committee, this week revealed he has held talks with Beckham regarding the possibility of the former Manchester United man being involved with the Games in some capacity, most likely in an ambassadorial role, though nothing has been confirmed at this point.
Beckham's Galaxy contract allows him to be part of London 2012.
However, after missing out on Pearce's squad, it is understood he now wants to play in the matches he would have missed for his club if he was named in Team GB.
Ambassadorial role: But Beckham plans only a short stay in London
Beckham doesn't want to disrupt Galaxy's MLS season and sources close to the player have indicated he could spend as little as a week in London before returning to America.
Galaxy have MLS clashes against FC Dallas, Seattle Sounders and Chivas USA during the Olympics and Beckham wants to be involved in those games.
Furthermore he has been called into an MLS All-Star team to face Chelsea on July 25 - two days before the opening ceremony. But Beckham may miss the friendly to take part in the Games build-up.
London 2012: Security forces get ready for Games - BBC News
It was only in December that organisers had to review the number of security staff at venues - from 10,000 to 23,500, leading to a £271m increase in costs to £571m.
That review saw the number of military involved jump to 13,500. Now it has gone up again because G4S have not been able to train enough staff in time.
Organisers had to review the number of security staff at venues back in December. Photo: Getty
Huge numbers of recruits failed to show up for interview or training, leading to last-minute attempts to plug the gaps. Many who did show up were simply not up to the task.
So why did G4S leave it so late to train the security staff? And if they knew they couldn't cope with the Government's demands, why didn't they flag it up before?
While this is an embarrassment so close to the Games, it is worth pointing out that the overall number of security staff has not changed. Many people may feel reassured that the military are performing these tasks rather than private officers.
But the heavy military presence at the Olympic Park will likely divide opinion. Some will feel safer, others may find it intimidating. Seb Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee, has said countless times he doesn't want the Olympics to be a security event with a bit of sport attached. The military presence will change that perception.
A document has been doing the rounds in Whitehall assessing London's readiness for the Games. Unsurprisingly it concludes London is ready - but there are concerns.
Transport remains the big question. Yesterday it took almost an hour to make the one-mile journey from Fleet Street to Trafalgar Square.
The organising committee and Transport for London keep saying they are sure the city will cope but the big danger is what happens if there is a signal failure or a problem with a major road? This will be exacerbated when the Olympic Route Network - which is supposed to ensure athletes get to their events on time - comes into force just before the Games.
There are also worries about how Britain's border controls will hold up once thousands of people start arriving.
This Sunday is a crucial test as it is the first day when all immigration desks will be fully staffed in anticipation of the rush.
With the world's media arriving looking for a story, the smallest things before an Olympics can suddenly take on huge significance.
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Today is the deadline for bidders for the Olympic Stadium. If you feel like you've read that line before, it's because you have - at least twice.
This is the third attempt to shoehorn West Ham United into the stadium after the Games. The first was scrapped after legal challenges from Tottenham, the second after opposition from Leyton Orient.
Daniel Moylan is the new man in charge of the body overseeing the future vision for the Olympic Park and its venues. He is a key ally of London Mayor Boris Johnson and a former deputy chair of Transport for London. He is confident the renamed London Legacy Development Corporation will get it right this time.
But as the only bidder in town, West Ham are trying to drive the hardest possible bargain. They may also demand more costly changes to the stadium scope - with a full roof and retractable seating adding an extra £50m to the conversion costs, taking the total to around £150m.
The challenge for Moylan is to finally clinch a deal with West Ham - the only viable long-term tenant - at the same time ensuring the taxpayer doesn't end up subsidising a wealthy Premier League football club.
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Weather forecasters are predicting the damp, unsettled conditions could continue well into August. London 2012 organisers say contingency plans are in place for the sport and for spectators but if it does keep raining expect some awkward questions for Locog as to why so many of the venues are uncovered.
London 2012 Olympics: extra 3,500 troops for Games - live blog - The Guardian
Labour has confirmed it is tabling an urgent question about the extra 3,500 troops being deployed to the Olympics.
Philip Hammond, the defence secretary, is due to make a statement about this to MPs today. On his Politics blog, my colleague Andrew Sparrow reports that the Ministry of Defence says Hammond is just planning a written statement, although Labour may try to get him to make an oral statement through its urgent question.
Even if that does not happen, Hammond is due to give evidence to the Commons defence committee at 2.30pm and will presumably be asked about the situation there.
Keith Vaz has said he has asked G4S chief executive Nick Buckles and its chairman Alf Duch-Pedersen to appear before his home affairs select committee to explain why they are having trouble providing the number of Olympic security staff agreed.
"I have written to G4S to inform them that the committee expects to see them next week," Vaz said. "Considering the assurances we have been given in the past this is very serious and we expect a full explanation from a company that not only have the Olympic contract, but receive hundreds of millions of pounds from the Home Office and other Government departments each year."
According to the Press Association, shares in G4S, which is the largest employer on the London Stock Exchange with more than 650,000 staff worldwide, were down 3% this morning.
London 2012 Olympics: Adam Gemili wins 100m crown at the World Junior Championships in Barcelona - Daily Telegraph
As a contest, it was not even close, with American Aaron Ernest finishing several strides behind the British teenager in 10.17sec and Jamaican Odean Skeen third in 10.28sec.
And as an hors d’oeuvre before the main course in London’s Olympic Stadium, it could not have gone better for a young man who, remarkably, only devoted himself full-time to athletics in January after giving up his career as a footballer.
“It’s a massive stepping stone,” said Gemili. “Just making the final was an achievement but the fact I made the won is so amazing. It’s going to help me a lot at the Olympics.” Asked whether he could go even quicker and perhaps even become only the fourth British man to run under 10 seconds at the Olympics, Gemili certainly was not playing down his prospects.
“Who knows?” he said. “All I know is that I feel good and I feel there is a lot more to come.” Significantly, it was the first time he was able to back up his breakthrough performance at a low-key meet in Regensburg, Germany, on June 2 when he ran 10.11sec and then 10.08sec to become the second fastest man behind Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre at senior level in Europe this year — a distinction he still holds.
- Britain's new whizzkid
Adam Gemili has become the fourth British man to be crowned junior world 100m champion, six years after the nation's last success at that level. His predecessors are: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in 2006, Mark Lewis-Francis in 2000 and Christian Malcolm in 1998
There had been one or two mutterings that the large amount of media attention Gemili has already enjoyed was disproportionate and a symptom merely of how little else there was to get excited about in British sprinting this season, but his display proved just what a class act he really is.
“I think it was very important to run that time,” he said. I ran quite quickly at the trials but not near the times I did in Regensburg, so the fact that I’ve done it again somewhere else is great.” His coach, Michael Afilaka, described the teenager’s race as “a fantastic performance”, and said the whole experience of competing in a global championship would stand him in good stead when he competes on the biggest stage of all in a few weeks’ time.
“It’s a continuous journey,” said Afilaka. “We’ve got to reset now and go for the big one.” That big one will involve lining up against the likes of Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay, though on yesterday’s evidence Gemili is more than man in enough to cope with the pressure, and he cut a relaxed, smiling figure on the start-line.
“I was trying to stay relaxed because I know if I tighten up when I run, I don’t run as quick. You’ve got to stay relaxed and stay focused and try and execute a race.” His victory means makes him the fourth British sprinter to win the world junior 100m crown, following in the footsteps of Christian Malcolm, Mark Lewis-Francis and Harry Aikines-Areetey.
The failure of the latter to make a major impact on the senior circuit — he will miss the Olympics after injuring his hamstring at the European Championships in Helsinki — is a reminder than junior glory does not guarantee senior success, but Gemili’s levelheadedness, combined with an impressive technique for someone so new to the sport, should help smooth his transition to the adult ranks. Afilaka is certainly confident he will have no problem adjusting.
“What has got us here is that he’s getting physically better and mentally better. His understanding of the event is better. We’ve done a lot of work in the last three weeks and if you look at the first half of his race and what he was doing before, they are two different things. It’s important to be improving like that.”
South London Healthcare becomes first NHS Trust EVER to go into administration as debts spiral out of control - Daily Mail
- Health Secretary says the ground-breaking decision is in the interest of patients
- Trust is struggling to pay off Labour-agreed PFI deals costing 61m a year in interest
By Claire Bates
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An NHS hospital trust losing 1m a week has been put into administration to try and stop it collapsing, the Department of Health said today.
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has appointed a trust special administrator to try and turn around the struggling South London Healthcare NHS Trust.
Queen Elizabeth hospital in Woolwich is one of three that makes up the South London Healthcare Trust
Mr Lansley said: 'I have decided it is in the interests of the health service and, in particular, of the patients the trust serves.'
The Trust has been put on an 'unsustainable providers regime' and the government has appointed Matthew Kershaw with the task of putting it back on a 'viable footing.'
Mr Kershaw currently works as the national director for provider delivery at the Department of Health. He will take over the Trust's board on Monday July 16 and recommend measures to Mr Lansley at the start of next year.
The chairs and directors have been informed that they have been suspended from board duties.
It is the first time in NHS history that a trust has been forced to hand over its administration powers to the Department of Health after failing to meet prescribed standards.
New appointment: Matthew Kershaw is the special administrator tasked with sorting out the Trust
The Trust was only created in 2009 after the merger of three hospitals - the Princess Royal in Orpington, Queen Mary's in Sidcup and the Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich.
Yet it has gone 150m in the red over the past three years largely because of crippling Private Finance Initiative deals agreed by the last Labour government. The two PFI deals are now costing 61million a year in interest.
Last year's deficit, paid off by money from elsewhere in the NHS budget, could have paid for 1,200 nurses or 200 hip replacements a week.
The Health Secretary stepped in after draft financial plans showed the trust would have a deficit of 30-75million a year for the next five years, despite efforts to tackle the situation.
Today he said: 'Past efforts have not succeeded in putting the South London Healthcare Trust on a sustainable path.
'This will be a big challenge and my key objective for all NHS Trusts is to ensure they deliver high-quality services to patients that are clinically and financially sustainable for the long term.
'The purpose of the trust special administrator is to ensure that services are high quality and to ensure a lasting clinical and financial solution.
Health secretary Andrew Lansley said the ground-breaking decision was in the interest of patients
'Although there have been some improvements in mortality rates, maternity services and infection control, and some early signs of improvements in waiting times, they do not go far enough. It will be impossible for South London to build on these improvements while tackling such a large deficit.
'Matthew, working with clinicians, all other staff, commissioners, patients, the public and other stakeholders, must now drive the changes and shape a sustainable solution for South London Healthcare NHS Trust and the local health economy.
'I am confident that with the regime I am enacting today in place, and working extensively with clinicians, health service leaders, patients and local people, Matthew will have the tools and framework in place to find a long-term satisfactory solution for the people of south east London.'
Mr Kershaw will first publish a report on October 29 after examining the Trust's long-standing difficulties. He will then launch a 30-day consultation with staff, patients and public on a draft report. A final report will be sent to Mr Lansley on January 8, 2013.
Mr Kershaw said: 'My priority is to work with staff, patients, the public and all those involved in healthcare services in the south east London area to maintain high quality, effective services during the running of the Unsustainable Provider Regime.
'This means developing recommendations that ensure that people in south east London can access high quality, safe, and financially sustainable NHS services for the long-term.
'Together we will need to think differently, be bold and accept that change needs to happen. The status quo is not sustainable.'
It is a shame on England that He is not in the team ofcourse he desrved that and he is still at a good level. There is something wrong with Englanf football, national team coach, national team all is very strange it is bad for english football. The situation like in Russia
- Alexander, Russia Moscow, 12/7/2012 12:06
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