< p>LONDON (AP) — The chief executive of the G4S security group acknowledged Tuesday that his company's failure to live up to its Olympic obligations has turned into a nationwide humiliation.

Quizzed by a panel of angry British lawmakers over his company's failure to recruit enough people to guard the games, Nick Buckles gave a groveling mea culpa.

"It's a humiliating shambles for the country, isn't it?" asked Labour lawmaker David Winnick.

"I cannot disagree with you," Buckles said.

Buckles was hard-pressed to explain why his company had failed to inform officials until only two weeks before the start of the 2012 Olympic Games that its recruitment had failed — forcing the government to call in 3,500 extra soldiers and police from various forces to fill the gaps.

G4S says it expects to lose between 35 million pounds and 50 million pounds ($54 million-$78 million) on the contract, which is equal to about 12 percent of its annual profit.