London Update - MPs Admit Games Are "Vulnerable" To Terrorists; Olympic Village Plans Progress

Monday marked four years since IOC President Jacques Rogge awarded the 2012 Games to London, while Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist attacks, when 52 people were killed on London buses and tube trains after Islamist suicide bomber attacks.

The anniversary of the worst terror attack in mainland Britain was marked by the Prince of Wales unveiling a memorial in Hyde Park – a 2012 Olympics venue for open water swimming and triathlon. The memorial, close to Park Lane, comprises 52 polished steel plinths.

Simultaneously, the House of Commons home affairs committee issued a report which stated that London’s tube and bus network remains “extremely vulnerable” to terrorist attack, and that the 2012 Olympics is “another critical area of vulnerability”.

The MPs report states: “The London Underground network will always be a high-profile target for would-be terrorists. We would, nevertheless, seek to reassure the Commons and the public that a great deal of work has been done… to protect the millions of passengers who use the Transport for London network every day.”

Police Consider China’s ‘Big Brother’ Tactics

As they prepare security for the 2012 Olympics, U.K. police are considering implementing some of the surveillance techniques used by Chinese security forces for the Beijing Games last year.

According to a document seen by the Sunday Times, among the “Big Brother” tactics deployed in Beijing were the installation of miniature microphones in thousands of taxis, and the tracking of athletes, officials, spectators and journalists through microchips on their tickets and passes.

The 44-page Scotland Yard police report says there are “lessons to be learnt” from China’s use of digital surveillance. The study was prepared after a trip to the Beijing Olympics by Tarique Ghaffur, the Metropolitan Police’s former assistant commissioner who had security responsibilities for the Olympics.

The report has been circulated to chief constables, the security services and government ministers as part of the U.K.’s $1 billion security plan for 2012.

Retirement Report on Olympic Minister “Totally Untrue”

Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell has angrily denied a weekend newspaper report that she intends to stand down as a Member of Parliament at the next general election, expected to be held in 2010.

Jowell, Labour MP for the south London constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood, said the report was “totally untrue” and that she was entirely committed to delivering a successful Games in 2012. “I have been reselected as the Labour candidate for Dulwich and West Norwood and it is my intention to stand at the next election,” she said.

Many MPs have announced their intention to stand down at the next election, following recent expenses scandals and the ruling Labour party’s poor performances in regional and European elections. One MP to announce his retirement in the past week is Derek Wyatt, the former England international rugby player and a strong supporter of London’s Olympic bid when he served on the Commons’ sport and media committee.

Olympic Village Developments

London 2012 organizers were showing off the progress being made on the $1.6 billion Athletes’ Village this week.

“Nothing is more crucial for the Games than the Village experience,” said Jonathan Edwards, the triple jump world record-holder and a member of the London 2012 board who fronted the presentation.

Edwards, the Sydney 2000 gold medalist, avoided the Athletes’ Village for as long as possible when he was competing. “My attitude when I went to the Olympics Games was that the village was something to be endured not enjoyed,” he said.

“The field of play, the athletics track, the tennis court, is pretty much the same whether it's London or Barcelona. But the village is unique. I'm very confident that this will be a very positive experience for athletes,” Edwards said.

With the village next to the Olympic Park being built entirely with public money after private investment proved impossible to attract, the planned accommodation has twice been downsized from its original 4,200 apartments – now to 2,800 flats for 15,000 athletes – making London’s bid book promises impossible to fulfill.

The Olympic Delivery Authority maintained that the accommodation, in 11 separate residential blocks, would still meet the IOC’s minimum requirements, with no more than two athletes having to share a room.

“The concentration of athletes is very different because there are 80 individual buildings so this will create less loading and more light and more open spaces,” said ODA chief executive David Higgins.

Much effort is going into the village’s appearance in 2012, as Dan Labbad, the chief executive of developers Lend Lease Europe, explained: “You’re going to have diverse architecture, you’re going to have diverse landscaping.

“It won’t be sparse – the landscaping won’t be done with seedlings, we’ll be using mature trees, to make it look like a place from Day 1, which is what it will need to look like for the athletes.”

There are 1,000 workers on site at present, and this is expected to peak at about 3,500. Piling has started on all the residential blocks except one, and construction of the Chobham Academy, the school within the village, is due to start this month.

Organizers Accused of “Lies” Over Shooting Venue

Olympic organizers are under renewed scrutiny over the decision to stage shooting events at Woolwich, with one member of the House of Lords accusing LOCOG of circulating “lies and half-truths about their reasons for this decision”.

Last year, consultants KPMG compiled a report on all 2012 temporary sports venues. It concluded that in the case of shooting, Woolwich represented best value, despite costs now running to $65 million and opposition from British shooting groups. Objectors want their sport to be staged at Bisley, Surrey, which is more than 40 miles from the Olympic Park in east London.

Questions have been asked in the House of Lords, England’s second parliamentary chamber, about the KPMG report, which has never been fully published because of “commercial sensitivities”.

British Shooting has also submitted a Freedom of Information request for the full report and is considering a judicial review of the decision, in the belief that the costs of using the national shooting center at Bisley were exaggerated.

Briefs…

… American track coach Dan Pfaff, 55, who in the past worked with Marion Jones and Ben Johnson, has been named by U.K. Athletics as the head of its high performance center at Lee Valley in north London. Among those elite athletes already based at the center is Olympic 400 meters champion Christine Ohuruogu, though Pfaff’s role will not necessarily involve direct individual coaching.

… Construction work has begun on London’s white water canoe center at Broxbourne, in Hertfordshire. Morrison Construction is building the 25-acre facility, including a 300-meter white water course and associated buildings, which will host canoe slalom events during the 2012 Games.

Written by Steven DownesFor general comments or questions,click here