In a last minute manoeuvre, "the military has been asked to provide up to 3,500 extra troops to guard the London Olympics, amid concerns that private security firm G4S will be unable to deliver the number of staff it promised", The Guardian newspaper reported today.
It said ministers have been forced into the "last-ditch move" only a fortnight before the Games because they are concerned that the private firm cannot guarantee it will be able to supply the 13,700 guards it was contracted to deliver.
"The army will provide an insurance policy," an unnamed source was quoted as saying by the daily.
The armed forces are already providing up to 13,500 personnel for the Games