With just two weeks to go until the 2012 Olympics and an extra 3,500 armed troops will be drafted in to guard the London games at the last minute. Due to concerns that private security firm G4S may not have sufficient trained manpower. G4S is obligated to provide 13,700 guards under the terms of its Olympics contract. However, only around 4,000 guards are ready to be deployed at present.

The Ministry of Defence has already committed 13,500 troops to guard the Games' 30 sporting and 70 non-competition venues. The last-minute move to deploy extra troops has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition. Keith Vas, the labour MP and chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, who urged the home secretary Theresa May to explain the issue as a matter of urgency.

This deployment of extra armed troops to plug a staffing hole, created by G4S's acknowledged difficulty with processing and managing security personnel. Has understandably raised widespread concerns of how the extra Olympics burden would impact the army's other commitments.

Written and Presented by Ann Salter