London police simulated the hijacking of a tourist boat on the River Thames on Sunday, March 19, as part of training for a possible terrorist attack.
The police said the scenario was not based on any specific intelligence, but last year an independent review of London’s preparedness to respond to a terrorist attack recommended strengthening security measures on the river.
Britain’s terrorism threat level is officially rated “severe”, which means an attack is deemed “highly likely”.
The Metropolitan Police said more than 200 police officers and staff took part in the exercise, along with Special Boat Service commandos, the fire brigade, the ambulance service, coast guards, the Port of London Authority and the RNLI lifeboat service.
“This is something we train for all the time and it is a real opportunity to practice that and hopefully demonstrate our competence to deal with this, should, God forbid, it happen”, said Metropolitan Police Commander Ben-Julian Harrington.
