Express 24h

Raine said that in addition to the £553 million Government contribution to the venue security costs and £475m for the Met Police Olympic security budget, the counter-terrorism budget is £560m a year for the next four years.

UK Border Agency senior director Tony Smith said that 70,000 Games Family members will be pre-screened and supplied with accreditation cards, which will double as a visa for entry into the country.

These cards will be issued after security checks, but will not have biometric data attached to them.

But he warned that because the normal pre-entry biometric details won't have been supplied as a condition of the accreditation card, such personal information will need to be collected at the border. This will be the first Olympics that such levels of biometric checks have been required for athletes.

Smith also warned that some accredited people might be prevented from entering the country. There were diplomatic rows during the Beijing Olympics when some Hong Kong journalists, who had been officially accredited, as well as former US athletes, were prevented from entering China for fear they would protest against that country's human rights record.

"This [accreditation] card is recognised as a visa and work waiver and allows access to venues," said Smith. "Because it is a valid document it confers the entitlement for accredited people to travel between March 30 and November 8, but we do not say you can have automatic entry into the country. We will have biometric scans to ensure details of all Olympic family members are captured."

Smith revealed that in addition to the numbers of those accredited, another 700,000 visitors were expected to arrive for the Olympics. He said 200 people had been prevented from working on Olympic Games sites following adverse findings during security checks.

General Sir Nick Parker, the Commander of Land Forces, Ministry of Defence confirmed 13,500 military will assist with the Olympic security.

"It is entirely proper, as national institutions that serve our country, to be seen to be helping to make the London Olympics a resounding success," he said. A large military exercise rehearsing roles for the Games will take place in May.