London, Jul 27 (IANS): Security during the London Olympic Games was the British government's main concern, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

"Obviously, our main concern is to have secure games, that is more important than all else," Xinhua quoted Cameron as saying at a press conference Thursday.

Cameron toured the Olympic complex Thursday accompanied by Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

"There are police officers in the streets of London, in the skies and in the waters of the Thames, and they are backed by the best military personnel in the world," the prime minister said.

Plans "to respond to any emergency" are working like clockwork, he said.

About 18,200 members of the British army have been put in charge of safeguarding sporting venues following the failure of private security company G4S to meet its obligations.

Just days before the games, the company announced it had been unable to recruit and train some 10,500 private guards for the games as it had been contracted to do years ago.

The government decided to call in the army to cover the gaps in security left by G4S, meaning some soldiers were unable to take their summer holidays and others will be working straight through with no rest before returning to duty in Afganistan.

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge recently said the British government's decision to deploy troops was "a good call".

In addition to the troops, another 18,000 private security workers will be stationed inside the Olympic complex during the entire event, from July 27 to Aug 12.