The United State is planning to bring 1,000 security agents to the London Olympics after raising repeated concerns about the level of protection that will be provided by the host city, the Guardian reported Monday.
The British newspaper said more than 500 FBI agents will be among those brought from America to provide security for its contestants and diplomats at the 2012 Games.
US officials have reportedly expressed deep unease that the UK has had to restrict the scope of anti-terrorism "stop and search" powers and have made several requests for reassurance of their British counterparts.
"We are not equal partners in this," said one unnamed UK security official. "They are being very demanding."
Another official said, "The Americans are risk-averse, with a capital 'A' and underlined. They want to see everything . . . They want to be on top of everything — building protection, counterterrorism strategy and VIP security — everything."
Asked about the size of the US contingent heading to London in 2012, the official said, "They don't do things by halves."
The US State Department declined to comment.
The reported friction between the nations has not been helped by Games organizers conceding that they badly underestimated the number of security guards needed at the 32 Olympic sites — and will now need 21,000 rather than the 10,000 originally planned for.
An unnamed source said, "Everyone has now realized 10,000 was an underestimate. This is one of the biggest problems facing the Olympic authorities because there is an absolute dearth of vetted and qualified private security guards. Senior police had advised ministers and the committee that 10,000 was too few, but nobody wanted to listen because of the cost involved."
The Olympics are scheduled for July 27-Aug. 12, 2012.
