UNITED KINGDOM: Britain's biggest warship sails into London for Olympics security exercises

Record ID: 330708

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Britain's biggest warship sails into London for Olympics security exercises
  • Date: 5th May 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 4, 2012) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MILITARY'S HEAD CO-ORDINATOR FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES, GENERAL NICK PARKER, SAYING: "Only in a final resort would you try to shoot a target down and you've got to understand that is so much the last resort, that you would do it understanding - you would make a balance of judgement about the potential threat of shooting the aircraft down or where it might go to. So this is a highly complex area and that is why we are practising it."
  • Embargoed: 20th May 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Conflict,Defence / Military,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA2P0PFE3462ADB8TJZNFSH2EAQ
  • Story Text: The unusual sight of Britain's biggest warship HMS Ocean greeted Londoners on Friday (May 4) as the helicopter carrier made her way up the River Thames.
    The giant ship is being berthed at historic Greenwich, close to the Olympic Park, for an intensive week of security testing ahead of the Olympic Games.
    Lynx and Sea King helicopters, along with Typhoon fighter jets, Royal Marine commandos and a sophisticated missile system are all being deployed and tested throughout the capital in the coming week as part of a "worst-case scenario" security drill for all arms of the military and the Metropolitan police.
    General Nick Parker, who is the military's head co-ordinator for the Games, said it's important to finesse operations now, so that the presence of the armed forces during the Olympics is barely noticed by the general public.
    "This is all about an Olympic Games which is about games, sport and fun and we've got to be really careful that our behaviours don't in any way impact on this. So we need to do this exercise well in advance of the Olympics, so that we test all our systems and then we can fade into the back ground ready to react in the unlikely event of the situation occurring when we have to," he said.
    HMS Ocean will act as a platform for air security operations, maritime manoeuvres and be home to some 500 troops who will be on 24/7 active duty during the Games.
    The coming days will see Operation Olympic Guardian test all the military's operations. This include missiles being placed in a few places in central and outer London, including on an apartment block very close to the Olympic Stadium.
    This has sparked alarm in some quarters about how and when missiles would be possibly used in the event of an attack on London.
    The final call would be made at the highest levels of government, but Parker said it was a very remote possibility.
    "Only in a final resort would you try to shoot a target down and you've got to understand that is so much the last resort, that you would do it understanding - you would make a balance of judgement about the potential threat of shooting the aircraft down or where it might go to. So this is a highly complex area and that is why we are practising it," he said.
    Parker added that London should not in any way feel like it is under siege.
    "We do have to be sensitive, this is a capital, it's a busy city, there is a lot going on and we have to be careful not to disrupt it unless we absolutely have to, but at the same time, I hope the British public are quite happy to see us here," he said.
    But Britain is not only facing threats from spectacular physical attacks during the games, there is a new line of defence which needs sureing up against cyber attacks. During the Beijing 2008 games, Chinese authorities reported a dramatic upsurge in cyber attacks. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond acknowledged it is a problem they are continuing to grapple with.
    "We have significant operations led by security people at GCHQ to keep Britain safe from cyber attacks, but it is a constant battle," he said.
    HMS Ocean, which recently returned from operations in Libya, sailed up the River Thames early on Friday and only just managed to squeeze herself through the iconic Thames Barrier.
    Locals and tourists gathered at Greenwich to marvel at the enormous warship as it settled in the middle of the Thames, with the Shard building as a backdrop.
    HMS Ocean will return to its home port of Plymouth once the Olympic exercise security test is completed next week. She will return to London in mid-July.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register