Olympics security will not be compromised, Home Secretary, Theresa May, has said, after it emerged that 3,500 extra troops would be needed.
She said it was only discovered on Wednesday ? 16 days before the Games begin ? that contractor G4S did not have enough trained security staff.
The troops are in addition to 13,500 already agreed.
Labour MP, Keith Vaz, said: ?G4S has let the country down and we have literally had to send in the troops.?
Mrs. May addressed the House in response to an urgent question from Mr. Vaz, who said he wanted assurances that visitors to the Games would be safe.
?Can the home secretary give the House this assurance: that she is now satisfied that all the changes she?s announced today will mean that this, what we hope will be the greatest Games ever staged, will be done securely for the safety of the visitors and the British people??
Mrs. May responded: ?I can confirm to the House that there remains no specific security threat to the Games and the threat level remains unchanged.
?And let me reiterate that there is no question of Olympic security being compromised.?
Mrs. May said that Britain had the ?finest military personnel in the world.?
?They stand ready to do their duty whatever the nation may ask. Our troops are highly skilled and highly trained and this task is the most important facing our nation today,? she said.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the scale of the problem should have been recognised sooner.
?Everyone wants us to have a safe and successful Olympics and we support the home secretary?s decision to bring in extra military support in the circumstances she?s in, and we also recognise, given the scale of the Olympic challenge, of course no-one can guarantee everything will go smoothly, but I have to say to her this really looks like another huge Home Office shambles.?
Defence Secretary, Phillip Hammond, confirmed that he had authorised the deployment of the 3,500 military personnel, which brings the total number of military personnel ? from all three services and including reservists ? contributing to Games security to 17,000.
Personnel had already begun to be deployed to venues ?to support the rolling search and lock-down process between now and the start of the Olympics, alongside the police, the commercial security provider, G4S, and volunteers,? he said in his written ministerial statement to Parliament.
He said the Chiefs of Staff supported the deployment, adding that it would not have an adverse impact on other operations.
?We will ensure that all those taking part receive their full leave entitlement, even if it has to be rescheduled, that no-one is out of pocket due to cancelled personal arrangements and that all deployed personnel are appropriately supported,? he said.
Mrs. May gave further details, saying 10,000 Olympic and Paralympic tickets had been donated to the armed services via Tickets for Troops, there was access for 2,000 to spectator areas in the Mall for the Olympic cycle road races and Olympic marathon, and troops had the right to buy 2,000 Olympic Park tickets.
Also, 7,000 tickets had been offered to the troops for the dress rehearsals of the opening and closing ceremonies.
The news of extra troops came the day before the chief inspector of borders raised fresh concerns about the border controls at Heathrow in the run-up to the Olympics.
Chief Inspector of Borders John Vine said some staff were not dealing with arriving passengers efficiently or effectively enough and that forged documents could be going undetected.
Downing Street said G4S?s inability to provide enough security for the Olympics was ?unfortunate?.
In a statement, it warned that the company should face consequences for its failure to fulfil its contract.
The prime minister?s spokesman said a joint military-civilian security operation was always envisaged at the Olympics and ?we are happy to change that balance.?
The spokesman said the government would meet the cost of the redeployment of the troops but refused to say whether the London Organising Committee (Locog) would force G4S to recompense the taxpayer.
Mrs. May said the government remained confident that the venue security costs would remain within the ?553m budget.
In a statement issued earlier, G4S said its Games deployment was ?unprecedented and very complex? and being ?carried out to a very tight schedule.??BBC
