On the Scene - Mayor Johnson Visits Olympic Village

(ATR) The mayor of London says it's "nothing but good" that extra military is being brought in to cover the security shortfall for London 2012.

Boris Johnson was speaking to London’s LBC radio network in the Olympic Village when he played down the concerns over security that meant that members of the media were greeted by troops on their latest tour of the village.

News reports Wednesday revealed that Olympics security provider G4S had failed to train enough staff to cover the full security quota for the Games – meaning that the government took the decision to draft in the military to cover.

But Johnson dismissed any concerns about what this meant in regards to the overall security at the Games, which start in just two weeks' time. "We were always going to have loads of military personnel involved," he said.

"What you’re seeing now is one of those pre-Games moments where everyone is belt and bracing the whole operation and we’ve got to make sure that we are safe and secure as we can possibly be.

"The addition of more military personnel can be nothing but good. They are not only fantastically professional, they’re reassuring, they’re smartly turned out, they’re polite and anybody who goes to Wimbledon and sees what a wonderful job they do at an event like Wimbledon knows they’ll add a touch of tone and efficiency to our arrangements."

It still remains unclear whether G4S will find its payment docked due to the failure to deliver on the promised security. That decision lies with LOCOG, who inked the contract.

Johnson was quick, however, to turn the mood around in the now fully completed Village that begins to welcome the first team officials to move in from Thursday ahead of the athletes’ arrival on July 16.

Since ATR’s last visit two weeks ago, the Village now has a completed Truce Wall which every athlete will sign upon entering the site. The shops have also been furnished and stocked. They include a general store, a post office, a bank and a merchandise store.

There is also a P&G salon especially for the athletes and team officials. After having his nails buffed ready for the Games, Johnson kept in touch with his feminine side by telling reporters of his pride for the horticultural aspect of the Park.

"What we will do is in our own ingenious way, without spending so much money on fireworks, is we will have the best ever Olympic Games" he said.

"If you go and look at that Park, look at the landscaping in that Park you see classic examples of the English love of gardening apart from anything else.

"Hundreds of thousands, millions of people, are going to come to the Park and to London and they’re going to have the most wonderful time – and if there is a bit of rain, it doesn’t matter. It would be a shame if we didn’t."

After the Games, the Village will pass into the hands of the Olympic Deliver Authority (ODA) who will remove the Games-time fittings in the apartments and convert them to new homes to be known as East Village.

Reported in London by Christian Radnedge

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