Olympics and Paralympics (Funding)

Debate between John Whittingdale and Keith Vaz

Monday 27th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Whittingdale]

One of the extraordinary things about how much has been achieved in preparation is that the world is different in quite a number of ways from that of 2005. My hon. Friend is entirely right that the security picture has changed enormously and, I am afraid, for the worse, so it has required much more attention, but the other big change is the economic climate, and many funding issues have been influenced by the fact that the Olympic facilities have had to be built in the teeth of a severe global recession. That has also proved very difficult. One thing that we discovered in talking to previous organisers of Olympic games was that several could not have done so had their work coincided with a recession as deep as the one that we have experienced.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Whittingdale]

I give way to my colleague, the Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee.

[Keith Vaz]

I commend the work of the hon. Gentleman’s Committee over several years. He knows that 10,000 athletes will be guarded by 40,000 police officers and security agents, but during his deliberations was he satisfied that the 23,000 private security agents who are going to be involved had been properly trained to deal with the situation?

[Mr Whittingdale]

My understanding was that 23,000 was the figure for the number of security personnel, of whom a substantial proportion will be from the armed forces, but the Minister may be able to explain.