New Delhi: More trouble for the 2012 Olympics in London, UK's spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, claims that the 9.3 billion pound budget for the games may be exceeded. This is because the bill for venue security has almost doubled and question marks still remain over the city's transport plans.
But the British government insists that the Olympics are on time and on budget, with more than 500 million pounds of uncommitted contingency funds available.
Olympics minister Hugh Robertson earlier made clear that security was not a negotiable item and that the British government was obligated to make sure it took every precaution to make the July 27 to August 12 event safe.
The British government said an additional 271 million pounds ($424 million) has been allocated to making venues and other sensitive sites, such as hotels, more secure. That means the total cost of securing the venues has climbed to over 553 million pounds ($862 million).
The biggest security worry for the Olympics is terrorism. Security has been an intricate part of the games since a terror attack at the 1972 Olympics in Munich killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. London has not been immune from terror attacks - four suicide bombers targeted the city's transit network in 2005, killing 52 commuters.
The British government is planning for the national terror threat to be "severe" during the Olympics, meaning an attempted attack is highly likely. About 12,000 police officers will also be on duty on the busiest days of the games.
With additional information from Associated Press
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