London 2012 Begins Security Testing
A huge scale exercise, testing security and emergency services in the event of a terror attack during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is set to take place across London over the next two days.
Around 2,500 personnel will take part in the event in central London – which will simulate an attack on the London underground – with organisers adding that nothing will be left to chance ahead of the Summer Games.
The two-day exercise, entitled Exercise Forward Defensive, will see Surrey Street closed to traffic during the first stage on Wednesday.
According to BBC News, those involved will be briefed that they are responding to a terror attack on the Tube network during the Olympic Games.
Chris Allison, the officer in charge of Olympic security, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner, said: ‘We need to be confident that we have the right people in the right places, that we understand how others operate and that we are talking to each other at the right levels and in the right way.’
The test will not only examine front-line services but managerial roles too.
Almost nine million tickets are being sold for Olympic events, with more than 10,000 athletes taking part.
In December ministers almost doubled the security budget for the Games from £282m to £553m.
