The Telegraph revealed that authorities conducted a mock terrorist attack on the UK Parliament earlier this year that exposed actual terrorists could easily break in and kill at least 100 Members of Parliament in a matter of five minutes:
In a simulated attack, which took place in the middle of the night, officers posing as extremists used a boat to gain access from the river. They then navigated the corridors and stormed the House of Commons chamber in an exercise that could have caused mass casualties if replicated in real life.The drill took place when Parliament was in recess earlier this year, with the vast majority of MPs and peers being kept in the dark about the results.
Sources said that the weaknesses shocked them and called the MPs “sitting ducks.” From The Independent:
Another said: “I remember thinking ‘Jesus Christ, if that’s where we are at and that can happen, then the public would be horrified’.”
The Telegraph reported these findings:
- An official reviewer has recommended installing a barrier in the river to stop boats approaching Parliament;
- An armed guard has now been tasked with protecting entrances from the river to stop anyone gaining access illegally;
- A stretch of perimeter fencing just over 3ft high has been flagged as a security risk amid fears terrorists could jump over it;
- More than 15,000 security passes will be reissued after officials accepted the current system had loopholes.
In the autumn, Parliament security will reissue more than 15,000 security passes, “with new identification cards including a name and photograph on both sides as well as a ‘distinctive hologram’.”
The review came after five months after terrorist Khalid Masood plowed his SUV into people on Westminster Bridge and then drove into the perimeter fence at Parliament. After he went through the fence, he “got around a dozen meters into a courtyard behind the security perimeter before being shot.”
Then last week, authorities arrested a man with a 4ft sword outside of Buckingham Palace. He shouted “Allahu Akbar” as police got ahold of him.
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