Gone to Court: London Residents Protest Use of Anti-Terror Missiles on Their Rooftops for Olympic Game Defense
- Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:14am by
Erica Ritz
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(Photo: AP)
(The Blaze/AP) — Residents of a London apartment tower went to court Monday in a bid to stop their rooftop from being used as a missile base during the Olympic Games, saying the unprecedented deployment could make the building a terrorist target.
The British military plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles at six sites around London as part of a vast security operation for the July 27-Aug. 12 games.
But residents of the 17-story Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone, east London, say they were not consulted about the decision.
Their lawyer, Marc Willers, told the judge: “It is the unprecedented siting of a military base or missile site in peace time on English soil that brings us to this court.”
People walk past gated residential flats in Bow, east London, where the Ministry of Defence warned residents that surface-to-air missiles could be stationed during the London Olympics. (Photo: AP)
The residents have a “fully justified fear that installation or deployment of the missile system on the roof of the Fred Wigg Tower gives rise to the additional risk that the tower itself may become the focus of a terrorist attack,” the lawyer proceeded to explain.
“That fear is not just genuine and legitimate but justified given the nature of the forthcoming occasion – the Olympic Games – and given the nature of the deployment and the current threat level, which is said to be substantial,” he continued.
The residents specifically claim that the missiles breach their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects an individual’s “right to private life and peaceful enjoyment of their home.”
Missiles also will be stationed at another apartment building, at a reservoir and farmland in east London and along hillsides in south London.
Watch this interview with a Londoner living in one of the areas, via the Telegraph:
“Just a leaflet through the door, some [posts] put up,” the resident explained incredulously. “I don‘t think that’s any way to tell people that you’re putting a missile base on their roof.”
Defense Secretary Philip Hammond, however, maintains that the missiles – capable of shooting down a hijacked aircraft menacing the Olympic Park – are a prudent part of security precautions intended to provide “both reassurance and a powerful deterrent.”
Hammond says objections to the security plans, which also include 7,500 soldiers, RAF fighter jets on standby at nearby air bases and a helicopter carrier on the River Thames, are confined to “a small number of activists.”
Intelligence officials say there has been an expected increase in chatter among extremist groups ahead of the Olympics, but there are no specific or credible threats to the games. Britain’s terror threat remains at substantial, the middle point on a five-point scale, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.
The judge hearing the application said the case was “urgent,” according to the BBC, and hopes to give judgment within a day or two.
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jaylew
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 9:57pmJust cancel the whole thing….I was done with the Olympics when Jamaica fielded a bobsled team…..and I should have realized when I was a kid that “Gretta” from the Eastern German Girls Shotput team actually was Johann from the Western DDR men’s softball team. The entire Olympics is all crap….Most of us have real jobs to go to every day…..I can’t be bothered by who can jump the longest…or run the farthest or the fastest……that’s why I bought a nice pistol in the first place. I’m not running or jumping anywhere…..
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 12:51pmMaybe they can load the missiles with Nerf warheads… probably about just as effective as a bobby’s baton against a jihadi driving a car bomb.
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 12:58pm…can’t they just hide the missile batteries under those crazy big bearskin hats the palace guards wear?
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 12:49pmI would love to put a missile base on my roof…so long as I get access to the big red button :)
Report Post »Torgo
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 12:40pmBritish? Unwanted quartering of troops? nah…
Report Post »v15
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 11:37amIf the residents of Great Britain were allowed to own and carry assault weapons and rock launchers then this wouldn’t be an issue.
Report Post »bobefann
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 2:03pmIm going to agree with this. Maybe if they had a chance to defend themselves, then everything would be ok. But no, all they have is umbrellas and canes.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 11:12amI think missile defense systems on rooftops is appropriate for the people who came up with the idea of sharks with freaking lasers on their heads.
I see no difference. : )
Report Post »KidCharlemagne
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:49amJames Madison was right:
—————————————————–
“In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of War, has the same tendency to render the head too large for the body. A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty. ”
-James Madison, Constitutional Convention, June 29, 1787
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:29amI don’t really understand how having missile defense systems for the Olympics is going to prevent car bombs and suicide vests anywway. It’s not like the Germans are sending in the Heinkel He 177s.
Report Post »guz75
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:46am‘…….Surface to air missiles‘ ’capable of shooting down a hijacked aircraft menacing the Olympic Park’
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 11:04amThey do have a pretty sizeable airforce in Britain you know. A hijacked aircraft should be taken out in the sea before it ever reaches land. I have to believe the hijacking of a plane taking off from British soil will be impossible with the very tight security measures already in place.
Report Post »kaydeebeau
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 2:06pmMunich 1972…..ring any bells? don’t think roof missiles will help
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 3:17pmThank you Kay.
Report Post »Angel_light
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:23amGee do I want powerful protection that will defend me at any second when needed… or do I want to be alone and have no protection what-so-ever when the need arises?? SOOOO difficult to decide…..
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:44amBut how does a missile defend against terrorist attacks? I assume that’s the fear and not a wave of enemy aircraft or missiles.
Report Post »Freedom.Fighter
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 12:36pmI’m a soldier and I would definitely fight against someone establish an air defense site on my roof. GONZA is right. Anyone with half a brain (and that includes the terrorists) knows that it would be easier to use a vehicle or personal explosive. It’s called the “path of least resistance.” How many times in the chats do we have to bring up that violating our liberties is not acceptable to just make us feel more secure. In fact, it sets a far more dangerous precedent.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:22amSo how long until these people join others rounded up by the British government for the duration of the Olympics?
Report Post »guz75
Posted on July 9, 2012 at 10:52amYeah, like the guy with a history of fighting with Muslim fundamentalists in Somalia who’d been told to stay away from olympic sites, but was found to have been through the olympic park 5 times, or perhaps the car full of known Muslim extremists whose car was pulled over and was found to contain guns and ammunition. God damn the pesky British government for rounding them up!
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