A FORMER Lancashire top cop is to oversee security at the 2012 London Olympics.

And Tarique Ghaffur, Lancashire police's former deputy chief constable, said the al-Qaeda terrorist group was the top security threat to the games.

The Metropolitan police assistant commissioner, who has been named security director of the Olympic security co-ordination agency, listed the terror group ahead of other potential threats such as organised crime, illegal immigration and human trafficking.

Mr Ghaffur said all foreign workers at the Olympic park site would be fingerprinted and have their passports and papers copied for a central Olympic security database.

With 200,000 accredited personnel and 70,000 volunteers expected to be involved in the 2012 Games, he said registering all those involved into a central database was essential to maintaining security.

At an international sports security summit in London, Mr Ghaffur said : "An event of this scale means technology plays a bigger part in the look and feel of the games and means surveillance will be a major issue that will likely cause debate."

Counter-terrorism exercises will be performed regularly in the build-up to the Olympics and a permanent policing team will be set up at the Olympic park in the summer.