7 May 2012

Paper smuggles fake bomb into London Games park

9:23 am on 7 May 2012

The Sun newspaper has embarrassed London Olympics organisers by disclosing it had smuggled a fake bomb past two security checkpoints into the London complex housing the sporting festival's main stadiums.

The newspaper pulled off the stunt on Saturday, at the end of a week-long pre-Olympics military exercise that saw a warship sail up the River Thames and plans announced to put missiles on rooftops near the Games venue in east London.

The paper said it had given the fake device to a digger driver who had contacted them because he was concerned that he was searched only when he arrived at work each morning, and was then able to leave and re-enter without further checks.

Britain is spending more than 1 billion pounds guarding the Olympics in what will be the country's biggest peacetime security operation.