Tube ‘Wide Open’ To Terror Attack
London’s Underground system remains wide open to terrorist attack because the Government has been hugely complacent about safety, the Tories have warned. Homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said that “virtually nothing” had been done to make the Tube less vulnerable after the July 7 attacks.
Suicide bombers killed 52 people on the capital’s transport network last year, and it has been highlighted as a target of at least one other plot.
Mr Mercer told Parliamentary Monitor magazine: “The Tube is wide open to further attacks and very little has been done to make it any safer. The Government is hugely complacent about Tube safety and security.
“Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, when he was detained by the Americans four years ago, said that one of his principal targets was the London Underground, and that has been clear for years.
“Since then, we have had a successful attack that killed 52 and injured about 700; we have had an attempted attack that failed on July 21; and we have almost certainly had foiled attacks as well.
“What has happened to make the tube safer? Virtually nothing.
“Apart from the Jubilee Line, there are no signs telling you what to do in the event of an emergency.
“There are signs telling you not to put your feet on the seats and to turn down your iPod, but nothing to tell you what to do in an emergency.”