Post date: Apr 29, 2012 2:36:43 PM
The site is one of a number around the capital the army is considering as bases for surface-to-air missiles to protect the London games from an aerial attack, the Ministry of Defence said.
It is the first time such missiles have been deployed in London since the end of World War Two, shocking some residents at the Bow Quarter housing development, sited in a converted red-brick Victorian match factory.
Britain's military tells residents of an apartment development near the Olympic Park in London it is considering installing a missile battery on top of a tower within their housing complex to defend the 2012 Games.
LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (APRIL 29, 2012) (ITN) - Residents of an upscale apartment development near London's Olympic Park have been told of plans by Britain's military to install a missile battery on top of a tower within their housing complex to defend the 2012 Games this summer.
"Yesterday morning my girlfriend brought home the leaflet. I was absolutely shocked. I couldn't believe that this would be announced in such a flippant way. Just a leaflet put through the door - some posters put up. I don't think that's any way to tell people that you're putting a missile base on their roof," said Brian Whelan, a 28-year-old journalist.
The measure was excessive and had upset his girlfriend, he said: "This is a highly built-up area. I can't imagine any situation in which you could safely use a high velocity missile over Tower Hamlets."
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond first announced the plans in November, saying Britain would follow the precedent set by previous Olympics such as the Beijing games in 2008 where surface to air missiles were stationed a kilometre south of its showpiece stadiums.
The defence ministry said in a leaflet sent to occupants on Saturday it had chosen the former water tower in the Bow Quarter complex because it offered "an excellent view of the surrounding area and the entire sky above the Olympic Park."
The tower was in fact "the only suitable site in this area for the HVM (High Velocity Missile) system," it added.
"The reasoning behind choosing this particular position for locating these HVM or high velocity missiles will be not only to provide that air defence against a 9/11 type of attack. But because of its proximity to the stadia it will afford a fantastic view across the local area to identify a multitude of types of risk that they could anticipate," explained security analyst Will Geddes.
The rooftop missile battery is one of a number of extraordinary measures Londoners can expect during the high-profile sporting festival, including restrictions on road lanes for Olympic use and a security bill of more than a billion pounds.