Group 4

It suddenly dawned on me that G4S are the same company that used to be riddled by tales of incompetency in the field of security - Group 4. Group 4 basically merged with Securicor. You can see the history of G4S here.

By the way, G4S also won 'welfare to work' contracts from Government to get people signed off as 'fit for work' by Atos Healthcare off DLA and Incapacity Benefit and into 'work programmes'. Concern has been expressed that Atos Healthcare are signing people who aren't fit for work - like people suffering from schizophrenia and other health issues - as ready and able.

I think a number of those work programmes involve working in security. I hope the company aren't using people from the 'welfare to work' programmes - for which they have contracts in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Warrington, North East Yorkshire and the Humber - as guards at the Olympics, but if anyone remembers the cock-ups regularly publicised about Group 4 in the days before it merged with Securicor, it wouldn't surprise me one bit.