Two G4S directors resign in wake of Olympics fiasco... but chief executive Nick Buckles keeps his job

• Chief operating officer and head of global sales to go after Olympics blunder
• Report found monitoring and tracking of security workforce was inadequate
• Also concluded that management failed to appreciate scale and exact nature of the project

Last laugh: Nick Buckles has kept his job as Chief Executive of Olympics blunder security firm G4S

Security firm G4S has stood by its chief executive Nick Buckles but said two senior directors have resigned, after a review into the embarrassing Olympics contract blunder.
Chief operating officer David Taylor-Smith and Ian Horseman Sewell, who is head of global events, are to carry the can for the fiasco but chief executive Nick Buckles will remain in his post.
The report by PwC found that monitoring and tracking of the security workforce was inadequate and that management failed to appreciate the scale and exact nature of the project.
G4S fulfilled 83 per cent of contracted shifts at the Games, but failed to provide the required 10,400 contracted security guards,  forcing the Government to step in with military personnel.
The security firm said its board had decided it was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders for Mr Buckles to remain as chief executive.

Mr Buckles, who admitted to MPs that the Games staffing episode had been a 'humiliating shambles', was not guilty of any major issues with his performance, the company said.
However, G4S will appoint a chief operating officer to work closely with Mr Buckles on areas such as customer service and project delivery.
'Whilst the CEO has ultimate responsibility for the company's performance, the review did not identify significant shortcomings in his performance or serious failings attributable to him in connection with the Olympic contract,' G4S said in a statement.

Chief operating officer David Taylor-Smith, pictured left, is one of two senior directors to have resigned after the G4S Olympics security fiasco

The report said the contract problems were largely specific to the Olympics, with the company not planning sufficiently for the scale and complexity of what was needed.
Taylor-Smith was responsible for the contract and for ensuring it was delivered on budget and on time, while Sewell was the account director who said just before the Games that the company could have delivered two events of that scale at the same time.
However, Buckles, who has been with the world's biggest security group for 27 years, has been the face of the Olympic failure, taking to television and radio to apologise to the British public and twice being hauled in front of a Parliamentary Committee to explain what had happened.
London Mayor Boris Johnson told LBC 97.3 radio it was right the G4S bosses quit over the Olympics fiasco.
He said: 'The rank and file, the troops on the ground, did a wonderful job, but when you look at what happened in the management of those hordes of G4S employees who did a great job, I'm not going to try and persuade them to stay this morning.'

G4S fulfilled 83 per cent of contracted shifts at the Games, but failed to provide the required 10,400 contracted security guards

G4S PRISONER ESCAPES

Police have issued a photograph of a prisoner who escaped from custody by climbing out of a window at a court.
Michael Davidson, 27, absconded from Tain Sheriff Court in the Highlands on Tuesday afternoon.
Northern Constabulary said that while he is not dangerous, he should not be approached.
They urged anyone who sees him to contact police immediately.
The force said that the man was the responsibility of security firm G4S at the time.
It is believed the prisoner escaped through a window in the building.
G4S said they are carrying out a full investigation into the incident and will be working closely with the Scottish Prison Service and relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances.

G4S has largely prospered under Buckles, who has presided over a share price rise of some 76 percent since being elevated to group CEO in July 2005.
But investors have worried that the Olympics affair could jeopardise G4S's relationship with the government, a core customer, at a time when Britain wants to heavily involve the private sector in running public services.
Government deals account for over half of G4S's £1.8billion of British revenue and make up more than 20 per cent of its pipeline of potential UK work, which includes prison management deals and electronic tagging contracts.
G4S, which has estimated its loss on the Olympics contract at around £50 million, is the world's biggest private security company with more than 650,000 staff worldwide.
The review said the large numbers of people being taken through each stage of the recruitment process gave a sense of comfort that all was well, but failed to identify the extent to which individuals were actually deployable.

G4S is the world's biggest private security company with more than 650,000 staff worldwide

It said the problem was not the result of a failure in any of the company's IT systems, but one of inadequate marshalling and interpretation of data.
The project management team reported that the required workforce numbers would be met and it was only at the time of the significant 'ramp-up' in staff needed from July 1 that the inaccuracy in the information was identified.
The PwC report also highlighted G4S's failure to appreciate the scale and nature of the project, in particular to properly incorporate and act upon feasibility assessments.