Invasion of the pickpockets

Britain is in the grip of a pickpocketing epidemic as Eastern European gangs descend on London ahead of the Olympic Games.

A surge in sneak street thefts means more than 1,700 people fall victim every day – an increase of nearly a fifth in only two years, according to official crime  figures released yesterday.

At the same time, police warned that professional gangs from Romania, Lithuania and even South America who operate in capitals across Europe are heading to Britain, intent on cashing in on unwitting tourists at London 2012.

How they do it: A member of the pickpocket gang approaches a BBC reporter investigating the rise in thefts ahead of the Olympics

Keeping him occupied: The man speaks to the victim on the pretense of needing directions while another gang member approaches from behind

A BBC investigation exposed the tactics used by Romanian thieves, who were previously operating in Barcelona, to dupe their victims.

The criminals boasted of their ‘one-second’ theft techniques which leave targets unaware that anything has happened until  it is too late. They can make £4,000 a week taking wallets, smartphones and laptop bags. The goods are then shipped back to Romania and sold on the black market.

 Scotland Yard has made more than 80 arrests already and warned thieves the capital will be a ‘hostile environment’ in the coming weeks.

The Met has even drafted in a team of Romanian police officers to deal with the problem and patrol in the West End of London and Westminster during the Games. They will not have arrest powers.

Distracted: An accomplice (left) then plays drunk so he can get close enough to the target to strike

 

Sleight of hand: The 'drunk' man jostles around with the BBC reporter, making it harder for him to notice what is going on

 

 

Rich pickings: The sneering thief walks away with the wallet from the unsuspecting victim

Teamwork: The thief quickly hands the wallet to another member of the gang, who spirits it away

 

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘These Romanian officers will prove to be a huge asset in cracking down on certain criminal networks who are targeting tourists in central London.’

Official statistics released yesterday showed pickpocketing thefts rose 17 per cent in the past two years.

In 2011/12, a total of 625,000 people fell victim, the Crime Survey of England and Wales showed.

That is an increase of more than 102,000 since 2009/10.

The vast majority of the total are classified as ‘stealth thefts’, but in 83,000 cases the victims’ possessions were ‘snatched’.

Read More

Hundreds of police officers are drafted in as security guards after G4S fails to provide staff at dozens of Olympic venues.

Police officers in several forces have been asked to help security

• Email

Police forces where Olympic Games venues are located have been asked to provide extra security, after G4S failed to provide enough staff.

Sky News understands that nine out of 12 police forces have been drafted in to help the embattled firm ensure the Games are kept secure.

The forces providing additional personnel include Strathclyde, West Midlands, Thames Valley, Greater Manchester and Dorset.

Sky News home affairs correspondent Mark White said: "The police say at this stage they have deployed hundreds of officers rather than thousands, but that could change in the coming days as more Olympic venues go into security lockdown."

"The need for extra officers will depend on whether G4S can meet its security commitment in the coming days and whether the military can deploy to those venues in time."

Only 15% of G4S staff allocated to the Gateshead Hilton arrived for duty

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, the Police National Olympic Security Coordinator, told Sky News: "Whilst some of the activity police officers are undertaking was not anticipated, plans were put in place to allow us to do this.

"Forces are making sure they make the best use of their resources locally to do all they can to minimise the impact on local policing.

"Delivering a safe and secure Games is a priority, but we will not compromise on keeping our local communities safe."

The details emerged after Northumbria Police were called in to help G4S with Olympic football security.

Sky Tyne and Wear discovered that less than 10 G4S guards reported for duty out of an expected 58 staff, as Northumbria Police Federation called the security firm's blunder "shambolic".

Chairman Charlie Munro said: "We are an emergency service and of course we will provide cover. The situation really is shambolic.

"I really think G4S needs to be looked at. They are a very big organisation and they've had long enough to plan for this. It really doesn't fill us with confidence."

G4S boss Nick Buckles (c) is under pressure over the security chaos

A spokesperson for G4S said: "As the games get closer, security is being tightened at venues around the UK, before the full complement of accredited staff have been assigned.

"Some venues are being supported by police in the short-term while the private security workforce is being mobilised.

"This situation is being rectified over the coming days, which should lead to the withdrawal of police from those roles assigned to private security."

The new revelation comes as Home Secretary Theresa May told the Commons about details behind the Olympic security crisis.

She said G4S only revealed last Wednesday that it had a staffing problem and the Government "took immediate action" in response.

"I want to be clear, this was the first time G4S told any minister about not being able to fulfil the contract," Mrs May told Parliament.

"G4S had repeatedly assured us it would overshoot their targets."

Defence minister Andrew Robathan told the Commons that the Olympic security situation was a "debacle".

The crisis has escalated since it was revealed last week that thousands of troops were needed to provide venue security after G4S admitted it may not be able to provide its full complement of 10,400 staff.

Mrs May said 20,000 G4S staff had been vetted and accredited, however the main problem was a shortfall when the company tried to allocate staff among venue.

She confirmed that no member of the armed forces would be out of pocket or losing leave entitlement over the need to deploy and supplement G4S staff.

The G4S share price plunged around 10% on Monday as investors fled the firm and newly-appointed chairman John Connolly agreed to meet key City investors to discuss the crisis and its impact on the company.

Meanwhile, embattled CEO Nick Buckles appears increasingly likely to become a victim of the debacle, which has been estimated to cost the firm £50m.

Some experts, however, expect the damage to be much deeper than the company has calculated and G4S' plans to nearly double its UK Government outsourcing are now under threat.

The company has been advertising for a new HR director, to be paid a six-figure sum, to manage 3,500 staff as they launch "ambitious plans" to reach a turnover of £400m by 2015.

Labour MP Keith Vaz has called into question the firm's role in outsourcing and said the company has "let down" the country.

Read More

300 enforcement officers will be seen across the country checking firms to ensure they are not staging "ambush marketing" or illegally associating themselves with the Games at the expense

Hundreds of uniformed Olympics officers will begin touring the country today enforcing sponsors' multimillion-pound marketing deals, in a highly organised mission that contrasts with the scramble to find enough staff to secure Olympic sites.

Almost 300 enforcement officers will be seen across the country checking firms to ensure they are not staging "ambush marketing" or illegally associating themselves with the Games at the expense of official sponsors such as Adidas, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and BP. The clampdown goes on while 3,500 soldiers on leave are brought in to bail out the security firm G4S which admitted it could not supply the numbers of security staff it had promised.

Yesterday, the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, refused to rule out that even more soldiers may be called upon to help with security, but dismissed the issue as merely a "hitch". However, as well as the regular Army, the Olympic "brand army" will start its work with a vengeance today.

Wearing purple caps and tops, the experts in trading and advertising working for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) are heading the biggest brand protection operation staged in the UK. Under legislation specially introduced for the London Games, they have the right to enter shops and offices and bring court action with fines of up to £20,000.

Olympics organisers have warned businesses that during London 2012 their advertising should not include a list of banned words, including "gold", "silver" and "bronze", "summer", "sponsors" and "London".

Publicans have been advised that blackboards advertising live TV coverage must not refer to beer brands or brewers without an Olympics deal, while caterers and restaurateurs have been told not to advertise dishes that could be construed as having an association with the event.

At the 40 Olympics venues, 800 retailers have been banned from serving chips to avoid infringing fast-food rights secured by McDonald's.

Marina Palomba, for the McCann Worldgroup agency in London, described the rules as "the most draconian law in advance of an Olympic Games ever". The ODA and Locog (London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) say the rules are necessary to protect brands.

"These rights are acquired by companies who invest millions of pounds to help support the staging of the Games," Locog said. "People who seek the same benefits for free – by engaging in ambush marketing or producing counterfeit goods – are effectively depriving the Games of revenue."

Some £1.4bn of the Games' £11.4bn budget comes from private sector sponsors. The International Olympic Committee's 11 global partners, including Coca-Cola, Visa and Proctor & Gamble, are contributing £700m while £700m comes from London 2012 partners, including Adidas, BT, EDF, and Lloyds TSB.

The scale of the brand enforcement squad is nonetheless likely to intensify criticism that the Olympics has become too corporate. Paul Jordan, an expert in brand protection at Bristows solicitors who advises firms on the rules, said they were almost certainly tougher than at previous Olympics. "No other brands would have people walking the streets being their eyes and ears, protecting their interests," he said.

A spokesman for the Olympic Delivery Authority, whose team of 286 enforcement officers have been seconded from 30 local councils, said it had a duty to ensure businesses were meeting the rules.

"We are using experienced local authority staff who currently enforce street trading and advertising legislation. They have all been fully trained," the spokesman said.

"Deliberate ambush offences will be dealt with using the full enforcement powers conferred on officers."

Read More

May defends Games security plans

Allegations ministers knew of a shortfall in Olympic security in 2011 are "untrue", Theresa May has told MPs. Addressing the Commons, the home secretary said it was only discovered on Wednesday that contractor G4S did not have enough staff and that it had "repeatedly assured" the government it would "overshoot their targets". Labour earlier said ministers should have known what was going on. It comes after the news 3,500 extra troops will be needed for security. It has also emerged that police have had to deploy extra officers from nine UK forces to do Olympic security work. Mrs May was answering an urgent question from Yvette Cooper MP, the shadow home secretary, on "security arrangements for the Olympic Games in light of the inability of G4S to deliver its contract". Meanwhile, athletes and officials are arriving at the Olympic Village with Heathrow Airport experiencing its busiest day on record, and the first priority "Games Lane" in operation. Last week, the government said it was deploying 3,500 extra troops to cover the shortfall, after private security firm G4S failed to recruit enough guards for the Games. In her statement to MPs, Mrs May denied ministers had attended meetings on the matter before last week. "G4S only told the government that they would be unable to meet their contractual arrangements last Wednesday and we took immediate action," she said. G4S, whose shares have fallen by 9% since the news came out, said security was being tightened at venues before "the full complement of accredited staff have been assigned". It said: "Some venues are being supported by police in the short term, while the private security workforce is being mobilised. "This situation is being rectified over the coming days, which should lead to the withdrawal of police from those roles assigned to private security." 'National disgrace' On Monday, Greater Manchester Police Authority revealed the force had to deploy front-line officers to provide security at an Olympic team hotel in Salford - after only 17 of an expected 56 G4S staff turned up for work. "At no point was there a failure to provide security for the athletes," said Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney. "Extra policing resources have had to be called in but there has been a minimal impact on policing the local communities that we serve on a daily basis." The prime minister's official spokesman refused to be drawn on when David Cameron was aware of G4S's Olympic recruitment failings, but said he was involved in the decision to deploy extra soldiers. On the issue of the cost of the unscheduled call-up to the armed forces, the prime minister's spokesman said: "We are very keen to make sure absolutely no one loses out. "G4S have been clear they will meet the costs." Home Secretary Theresa May told the Commons last week that there were penalties written into the G4S contract but did not give details. The chairman of Greater Manchester Police Federation, Ian Hanson, said the situation had become "an absolute debacle". "Those who presided on what is rapidly becoming a national disgrace should hang their heads in shame." He added: "They've failed - they need to acknowledge that they've failed, and it's the police officers and the soldiers... who are putting the wheel back on."

Read More

Cleaners at the Olympic Park are being housed ten to a room at a huge temporary compound.

The campsite in East London, hidden from public view, has 25 people sharing each toilet and 75 to each shower.

They sleep in portable cabins, some of which have been leaking in the rain.

Grim: Cleaners at the Olympic Park are being housed ten to a room at a huge temporary compound, pictured. The campsite in East London, hidden from public view, has 25 people sharing each toilet and 75 to each shower

And the bad weather has left the site flooded with stagnant water, forcing them to use abandoned crates as makeshift ‘stepping stones’ to move around the site.

Hundreds have come from abroad to work at the Olympics despite promises that the jobs would go to Londoners.

 

 

On arrival, some were horrified to be told there was no work for two weeks. But despite this, they were made to pay the cleaning company £18 a day in ‘rent’ to sleep in the overcrowded metal cabins, which works out at more than £550 a month.

Others who had come to the UK desperate for the jobs turned back, describing  the camp as ‘horrible’, with showers and toilets ‘filthy’ from over-use.

Poor conditions: The bad weather has left the site flooded with stagnant water, forcing the cleaners to use abandoned crates as makeshift 'stepping stones' to move around the site. This image shows how close the camp is to the Olympic Stadium

Andrea Murnoz, 21, a student from Madrid, said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw the places people were sleeping.

‘When I first saw the metal gates and the tall tower in the middle, it reminded me of a prison camp. It looks horrible. 

'I was thinking I would apply for a job, but I have changed my mind. My two friends signed up, but I think they are regretting it.’ 

Cleaners at the camp have signed gagging orders preventing them from talking to the Press and have been banned from having family and friends visit ‘for security reasons’.

One worker, from Hungary, said conditions were ‘very bad’ inside the camp but he had nowhere else to live. ‘It is like a slum inside,’ the 24-year-old said.

‘The toilets are dirty and the space is very little.’ 

Another, also from Hungary, said: ‘When we saw the camp, we were shocked. When we came to England we thought accommodation would be much nicer.

Employment: Hundreds of people have come from abroad to work at the Olympic Park

‘Some of the cabins have been leaking and we have been told to fix them ourselves. 

Two girls have left already because they did not want to sleep in a room with men they didn’t know.’ 

Plans for the accommodation were backed by London 2012 organiser Locog and waved through by the local council, Newham, even though environmental health officers said the toilet and shower facilities were ‘unlikely to be adequate’, while landscape architects said the sleeping arrangements were ‘cramped’.

TROOPS SERVING IN AFGHANISTAN FACE LONGER TOURS OF DUTY

Troops serving in Afghanistan could face extended tours of duty because of the Olympics security fiasco, it is feared.

Some 3,500 service personnel men and women have been drafted in urgently for guard duties at the Games, potentially delaying battlefield training they would receive before deploying to Afghanistan.

As a result, troops in Helmand are braced to spend an extra month there, although the Ministry of Defence denied there would be a knock-on effect on tours of duty.

But councillors decided that because the camp would be only temporary, concerns about the housing and welfare of the workers were not ‘justifiable reasons for refusing planning permission’.

Any accommodation where more than two adults have to share a room is considered ‘overcrowded’ under housing laws. Health and safety guidelines state that employers should provide at least five toilets and five washbasins for every 100 people.

Craig Lovett, of Spotless International Services which runs the camp, said the number of toilets and  showers per person exceeded requirements for temporary accommodation and that there were internet, medical and entertainment facilities on-site. 

He said shift patterns would reduce pressure on the facilities.

He said unexpected heavy rain had been a ‘pain’ but the company was working tirelessly to sort things out.

Messy: Some who had come to the UK desperate for the jobs turned back, describing the camp as 'horrible', with showers and toilets 'filthy' from over-use

He added: ‘This is not a prison. Nobody is forced to stay there. Many of our staff have come from areas where there is extremely high unemployment and are very happy to be working in the Games.

‘There will always be a couple of disgruntled people on site, but it’s a shame they didn’t come to talk to us to air their grievances because there are certainly processes in place for them to do that.’ 

A Locog spokesman said: ‘Cleanevent [part of Spotless] have assured us that the accommodation they are providing their workers is of a suitable standard.’

Plush: The conditions at the cleaners' camp are in stark contrast to the Olympic Village where the athletes will stay

 

Luxurious: Athletes in the Olympic Village will have access to a nice bar area complete with comfy armchairs and games

 

Workers fit out the container city in Hainault Forest with mattresses ready for the contract Olympic staff

 

Machinery is used to lift the heavy bedding to the upper level of the container housing so the rooms can be kitted out

 

Read More

Read More

Barclays boss Bob Diamond resigns

Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond has resigned with immediate effect. The move comes less than a week after the bank was fined a record amount for trying to manipulate inter-bank lending rates. Mr Diamond said he was stepping down because the external pressure on the bank risked "damaging the franchise". Chairman Marcus Agius, who said on Monday he was stepping down, will take over the running of Barclays until a replacement is found. "I am deeply disappointed that the impression created by the events announced last week about what Barclays and its people stand for could not be further from the truth," Mr Diamond said in a statement. He will still appear before MPs on the Treasury Committee to answer questions about the Libor affair on Wednesday. "I look forward to fulfilling my obligation to contribute to the Treasury Committee's enquiries related to the settlements that Barclays announced last week without my leadership in question," Mr Diamond said. Last week, regulators in the US and UK fined Barclays £290m ($450m) for attempting to rig Libor and Euribor, the interest rates at which banks lend to each other, which underpin trillions of pounds worth of financial transactions. Staff did this over a number of years, trying to raise them for profit and then, during the financial crisis, lowering them to hide the level to which Barclays was under financial stress. Prime Minister David Cameron has described the rigging of Libor rates as "a scandal". The Serious Fraud Office is also considering whether to bring criminal charges.

Read More

Beware of missed call to check SIM cloning

Next time if you get a missed call starting with +92; #90 or #09, don't show the courtesy of calling back because chances are it would lead to your SIM card being cloned. The telecom service providers are now issuing alerts to subscribers —particularly about the series mentioned above as the moment one press the call button after dialing the above number, someone at the other end will get your phone and SIM card cloned. According to reports, more than one lakh subscribers have fallen prey to this new telecom terror attack as the frequency of such calls continues to grow. Intelligence agencies have reportedly confirmed to the service providers particularly in UP West telecom division that such a racket is not only under way but the menace is growing fast. "We are sure there must be some more similar combinations that the miscreants are using to clone the handsets and all the information stored in them," an intelligence officer told TOI. General Manager (GM) BSNL, RV Verma, said the department had already issued alerts to all the broadband subscribers and now alert SMSes were being issued to other subscribers as well. As per Rakshit Tandon, an IT expert who also teaches at the police academy (UP), the crooks can use other combination of numbers as well while making a call. "It is better not to respond to calls received from unusual calling numbers," says Tandon. "At the same time one should avoid storing specifics of their bank account, ATM/ Credit/Debit card numbers and passwords in their phone memory because if one falls a prey to such crooks then the moment your cell phone or sim are cloned, the data will be available to the crooks who can withdraw amount from your bank accounts as well," warns Punit Misra; an IT expert who also owns a consultancy in Lucknow. The menace that threatens to steal the subscriber's information stored in the phone or external memory (sim, memory & data cards) has a very scary side as well. Once cloned, the culprits can well use the cloned copy to make calls to any number they wish to. This exposes the subscribers to the threat of their connection being used for terror calls. Though it will be established during the course of investigations that the cellphone has been cloned and misused elsewhere, it is sure to land the subscriber under quite some pressure till the time the fact about his or her phone being cloned and misused is established, intelligence sources said. "It usually starts with a miss call from a number starting with + 92. The moment the subscriber calls back on the miss call, his or her cell phone is cloned. In case the subscribers takes the call before it is dropped as a miss call then the caller on the other end poses as a call center executive checking the connectivity and call flow of the particular service provider. The caller then asks the subscriber to press # 09 or # 90 call back on his number to establish that the connectivity to the subscriber was seamless," says a victim who reported the matter to the BSNL office at Moradabad last week. "The moment I redialed the caller number, my account balance lost a sum of money. Thereafter, in the three days that followed every time I got my cell phone recharged, the balance would be reduced to single digits within the next few minutes," she told the BSNL officials.

Read More

France brings in breathalyser law

New motoring laws have come into force in France making it compulsory for drivers to carry breathalyser kits in their vehicles. As of July 1, motorists and motorcyclists will face an on-the-spot fine unless they travel with two single-use devices as part of a government drive to reduce the number of drink-drive related deaths. The new regulations, which excludes mopeds, will be fully enforced and include foreigner drivers from November 1 following a four-month grace period. Anyone failing to produce a breathalyser after that date will receive an 11 euro fine. French police have warned they will be carrying out random checks on drivers crossing into France via ferries and through the Channel Tunnel to enforce the new rules. Retailers in the UK have reported a massive rise in breathalyser sales as British drivers travelling across the Channel ensure they do not fall foul of the new legislation. Car accessory retailer Halfords said it is selling one kit every minute of the day and has rushed extra stock into stores to cope with the unprecedented demand. Six out of 10 Britons travelling to France are not aware they have to carry two NF approved breathalysers at all times, according to the company. The French government hopes to save around 500 lives a year by introducing the new laws, which will encourage drivers who suspect they may be over the limit to test themselves with the kits. The French drink-driving limit is 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood - substantially less than the UK limit of 80mg.

Read More