POLICE and the Home Office have failed to draw up plans for ensuring London's security and the safety of visitors during the 2012 Olympic Games, an inquiry has warned.

Policing the Olympics will be a mammoth undertaking, involving forces from across the country as well as the Metropolitan Police.

But MPs warned: "Insufficient progress has been made in bringing forward a plan to secure the London Olympic Games, which are now only four years away."

An inquiry by the Home Affairs Select Committee found that police forces still didn't know what they would be expected to do - or how it would be paid for.

And it warned that the radio system used by forces, including the Metropolitan Police, would struggle to cope with the number of officers using it at once, when the games got underway.

Committee members including Karen Buck (Lab, Regent's Park and Kensington North) published the findings following a nine-month inquiry into policing in the 21st century.

Media attention has focused on the report's call for a ban on "happy hour" promotions in pubs and cheap beer in supermarkets, but the MPs also examined a range of other issues.

The Olympic Games are expected to require 2.5 million security staff, including police officers and private security guards.

The MPs warned: "This uncertainty over funding and commitments also has an impact on forces outside London, which will play a role in policing the Olympics owing to the scale of the event."

They said: "We are concerned at the potential implications both for security during the event and for planning by individual forces who will be involved in delivery.

"The Home Office should take urgent steps to ensure that planning security for the Games is properly co-ordinated across police forces and other authorities."

And they said they were concerned that the radio network used by British police, known as Airwave, "can struggle to cope where a very large number of users are concentrated in the same area."

The MPs added: "We are concerned about the potential for the network to fail during the Olympic 2012 games, given the numbers of officers who will be deployed."

The report also highlighted concerns expressed by London Mayor Boris Johnson, who gave evidence to the committee earlier in the year

In his submission to the inquiry, Mr Johnson warned: "I do think that it is vital that we establish very soon what the security architecture is going to be for the Games . . . am afraid that not enough work has been done on this so far."

Other issues raised in the report included concern that the Metropolitan Police is poaching officers from neighbouring forces.

The Met is able to pay officers up to £6,000 a year more than other forces because of the London weighting allowance.

But neighbouring forces such as Thames Valley Police was losing staff as a result.

The MPs called on the Met to agree a "protocol" with surrounding areas to cut the number of officers transferring from other forces.

Related links: Select Committee report (PDF Download).

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