Olympics: Britain to revamp security

Britain says it will put its border guards under separate control in preparation for the London Olympics after a critical report found hundreds of thousands of people had been allowed into the country without full security checks.

Ministers are under pressure to ensure Britain's borders are secure as the island nation prepares for an extra 700,000 visitors arriving for the games in July and August.

A government-ordered report has raised questions over the border agency's ability to cope with the jump in arrivals.

Addressing parliament, Home Secretary Theresa May said she would split the 7000-strong UK Border Force from the larger border agency and put it under the control of a senior police officer.

She said the relaxation of checks against a watchlist of suspected criminals and militants was "completely unauthorised" and unacceptable.

The report said: "A significant test will be whether this can be maintained during periods of greater passenger volume and for the Olympic and Paralympic Games".

It found that between 2007 and 2011 border guards waived the "Warnings Index" checks on about 500,000 Europeans arriving by the Eurostar train service that links Britain and France.

Other checks had also been suspended without ministerial approval, including at Heathrow airport, in London, where guards allowed in students from "low-risk" countries even when they lacked the required entry clearance.

Qatar is proposing to hold the 2020 Olympics in October, to avoid the Gulf Arab state's searing summer heat, and maintains that the proposed October dates would "ensure ideal conditions for athletes and spectators."

Details of the bid released on Monday show that Doha would like to stage the Olympics from October 2 to 18 and the Paralympics from November 4 to 15.

"October in Doha is not like July and August. I don't think heat will be an issue," Qatar Olympic Committee General Secretary Sheik Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters in the Qatari capital.

- Reuters