G4S London 2012
G4S lost £88m because of its London 2012 Olympic Games security blunder (Reuters)

G4S has been confirmed as a provider of safety stewards to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, despite its blundering oversight of the security for the London 2012 Olympics, a fiasco that cost the firm £88m.

The security and outsourcing giant is one of 19 private businesses providing services to Glasgow 2014, though it will not be offering security services as it had done at London 2012. G4S did not provide enough security staff for London 2012, leaving the army to step in and cover the gap.

Steve Allen, deputy chief constable for police in Scotland and Commonwealth Games security director, defended the decision to use G4S for safety stewards following the London 2012 debacle.

"The situation we find ourselves in is wholly different, certainly in relation to G4S," he told BBC News.

"If any private company has learned the lessons of London 2012 it's going to be G4S."

Announcing it would be assisting with Glasgow 2014's stewarding, G4S said it is "already [the] incumbent provider at several venues."

G4S Scandals

The reputation of G4S has taken a significant beating since its costly London 2012 security error.

It is under criminal investigation along with rival Serco by the Serious Fraud Office amid allegations of wrongfully charging the government for the electronic tagging of criminals on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said there is evidence both G4S and Serco had charged taxpayers for the tagging of criminals where the work had not been completed, such as in cases where the person was dead or still in prison. He added there was no evidence that knowledge of wrongdoing went up to board level.

Both Serco and G4S said in separate statements that they will co-operate fully with the investigations.

The London 2012 crisis ultimately led to the departure of G4S group chief executive Nick Buckles, who admitted to MPs that the Olympics fiasco had been "humiliating".

Buckles was replaced by Ashley Almanza, who had been the G4S chief financial officer for just three weeks before his promotion.

At a shareholder meeting, Almanza said one of his "principal objectives is to try and put the Olympics and some of the setbacks behind us".

He also hinted at cost-slashing and job cuts for G4S.

"Let me reassure you that while the short term outlook is challenging the underlying business and the medium and long term outlook remain very strong indeed," said Almanza.

"We are putting in place a number of business improvement plans to strengthen margins in 2014 and 2015."

In November 2011 G4S dropped a £5.2bn bid to take over outsourcing giant ISS, amid shareholder concern over the size of the deal.

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