The Olympic Programme was initiated to identify the security risk and potential operational impact to M&S stores through the Olympic Year, including the Torch Route, concerts, live venues, Olympic venues and dynamic sports, such as cycling road racing.

The initial aspect of the programme was to identify, risk assess and review the security systems at the potentially impacted stores. Working closely with the Police, Security Forces and Intelligence Services ensured Marks & Spencer Security delivered threat-based decisions to the business, whilst understanding the operational impact of those decisions.

An aspect of the programme was to ensure the smooth operational delivery to the affected stores. LOCOG set a criteria to be achieved to allow uninterrupted deliveries to key Olympic Park stores. To achieve the required standard, very specific control measures were imposed to the all aspects of the logistic chain.

The Olympic Command Room was initiated to allow a single point of contact for the security operational aspect to report into, whilst receiving direct and informed decisions. This was assisted by ensuring remote CCTV access to business critical stores. The Command Room delivered live daily updates to the business whilst also monitoring intelligence sources, which ensured the stores delivered retail service to the customers, knowing that focused support was there.