Big Ben in terror risk
2004-07-13 20:33
London - Britain's domestic security agency MI5 has warned that one of London's most famous landmarks, the clock-tower of the Houses of Parliament known as Big Ben, is vulnerable to terrorist attack and has called for the area to be surrounded by a steel barrier, newspapers said on Tuesday.
The 96m tower could collapse onto the parliament if it were structurally damaged, the report said. The tower, which takes its name from the 13.5-ton hour bell, stood throughout the German bombing blitz in World War II, although the parliamentary chamber was hit by a bomb and destroyed.
According to the reports, MI5 warned that the tower's proximity to a busy road, and the fact it has been climbed by Greenpeace protestors indicated that it was at risk.
The classified security survey also said the tower could be hit by the heavy concrete blocks designed to keep suicide bombers away from the parliament in the event of a large explosion.
The survey was reported to have recommended the removal of these blocks and their replacement by a heavy metal barrier.
But Paul Tyler, a spokesperson for the Liberal Democrat party, quoted in the Guardian, said "clearing traffic and the public from Parliament Square and putting a steel barrier around the Palace of Westminster would mark a defeat for democracy."
Tyler said the need for more security would have to be balanced with need to protect public access.