In Manchester police were forced to step in after only 17 of an expected 56 G4S staff turned up at an Olympic team hotel in Salford at the weekend.
A similar picture was emerging in the West Midlands, where the regional chair of the police federation, Ian Edwards, said the force had had to provide 150 officers a day to cover a hotel in Warwickshire where Olympic footballers were staying.
I'm sure most of this "security" isn't and isn't necessary, but everyone pretends it is.
And the company will get paid in full.