G4S promised to resolve staffing problems ahead of Olympic Games, says Theresa May Private security firm G4S told the Home Office it would be able to resolve its problems supplying Olympic guards last month, Theresa May said today. On a tour of the Olympic Park's security centre, the Home Secretary said G4S, the world's second largest private sector employer, told officials that any problems were temporary and would be resolved. She denied being selective in what she told MPs, insisting that the gap in the numbers only became clear on July 11, not two weeks earlier when the firm first reported problems. "In early July it was clear that there were some initial problems which G4S said they would resolve," Mrs May said. And crucially it was not until July 11 that G4S finally said, 'Actually we can't resolve those initial problems, we won't be able to provide the personnel'. She went on: "I haven't been at all selective. What I've been is absolutely clear with the House of Commons and others about how these things developed. Asked what the Home Office was told at a meeting with G4S and Olympic organisers Locog on June 27, Mrs May said: "What happened was there were some early signs of a problem with rostering staff for G4S. It was clear that G4S felt they were capable of dealing with that, that it would be resolved, and it was on July 11 as the chief executive of G4S told Parliament, the home affairs select committee, that G4S said, 'Actually, we now believe we cannot produce the staff we were contracted to produce'. Mrs May went on: "What I've seen here is a very organised control room, people absolutely focused on their role of providing the safety and security for the Olympic Games. And, crucially, there has been no compromise in security given what has taken place in recent days and I can see that, there's a visible example of that, here in this control room. We are constantly monitoring, constantly looking at how they are ensuring that safety and security for the Games so the people who come to these Olympic Games enjoy them for the great sporting event that they are and be able to feel safe and secure. With a further 1,200 troops put on 48-hour stand-by yesterday as possible support for the 17,000 servicemen and women already involved in Games security, Mrs May added: "The Government needs to be sure we can be ready for any contingencies." Asked if G4S should be barred from taking on any Government contracts in the future, she said the Government was working with the firm on both the Olympics and Paralympics, as well as a number of other contracts. "G4S will still be providing a significant number of venue security personnel," Mrs May said. During the visit to the control room with Scotland Yard Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe, Mrs May saw G4S staff and others at work in front of a bank of more than 30 large screens covering the park. She also met Colonel Gary Wilkinson, the venue's senior military representative, and Superintendent Neil Seabridge, the Met's bronze commander at the park today. Mrs May said the issues with G4S supplying enough guards initially looked like "teething problems." "They were consistently telling us, up until July 11, that they could produce the number of people required for the Olympic Games," she said. Asked if G4S should have acted sooner, Mrs May said they believed they had identified a "temporary problem which was capable of resolution."