LONDON, Aug 15 (AFP) - A tabloid newspaper in Britain claimed Sunday to have exposed major security breaches at the Athens Olympics, after one of its reporters got a job at the main stadium without a thorough security check.
The Sunday Mirror said its reporter enjoyed virtually free access to the venue right up to Friday's opening ceremonies, and that a security sweep had failed to find three mock bombs that he had planted 10 days ago.
"While working undercover, our reporter also discovered (that) many workers were not vetted before getting their jobs, vehicles and bags were allowed onto the site without being searched, (and) bomb detectors and scanners were not working," it said.
So "shambolic" was security that the reporter at one point was able to enter the stadium with passes bearing the names "Robert bin Laden" and "Michael Mouse", it said.
Greek authorities have promised ultra-tight security for the Olympiad, the first since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001 carried out by Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
The Sunday Mirror said its reporter got a 10 pound (15 euro, 18 dollar) an hour job as a fork lift driver at the main stadium within days of arriving in Athens on July 6.
"There was no interview and no references were asked," it said, despite his passport being "crammed with border entry stamps from countries known to harbour Al-Qaeda sympathisers such as Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon".
It added that during a "security lockdown" on August 5, intended to fully sweep Olympic venues, security agents failed to find three mock bombs which the reporter had placed in as many places.
"The packages, wrapped in foil, contained a six-inch (15 centimetre) slab of grey Plasticine, which resembled Semtex explosive, batteries, wire and tape," it said.
The mock bombs were placed in a locker, a cardboard box in an area where opening-night performers prepared, and a sandwich box in the main Olympic stadium, it said.
On opening night, the Sunday Mirror continued, the reporter entered the stadium without going through metal scanners, which had been put out of order due to power failures.
Instead, it said, he was submitted to a body sweep with a hand-held scanner by a police sergeant who failed to inspect the inside of the reporter's bum bag.
Once inside, it said, the reporter sat in the stands for the opening ceremony, before going into a tunnel beneath a VIP area where a posse of dignitaries -- including British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- were seated.