Electric fence to protect Big Ben from terror attack
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-02 23:17

The famous clock tower on the Houses of Parliament could be surrounded by an electric fence as part of new security measures to shield it from terrorists and publicity-seeking protestors, a report said.

A police boat patrols on the Thames River outside of the Houses of Parliament in London. Britain's domestic security agency MI5 has warned that one of London's most famous landmarks, the clock-tower of the Houses of Parliament known as Big Ben, is vulnerable to terrorist attack and has called for the area to be surrounded by a steel barrier, newspapers said. [AFP]

It is likely to be installed as an interim measure around part of the perimeter of the House of Commons to protect St Stephen's Tower which houses the Big Ben bell, considered a trophy target for terrorists, the Times newspaper said Monday.

House of Commons' authorities have ordered security officials to examine the possibility of running an electric current through strengthened fencing, the report said.

"We will look in the shorter term at having better fencing and possibly electrifying it," an unnamed Commons source was quoted as telling the paper.

"It would give you a nasty shock and (make you) jump off but would be at a height where if you fell off it wouldn't kill you."

In March, two protestors from the environmental group Greenpeace breached security and scaled Big Ben, unveiling an anti-Iraq war banner next to the clock face.

The incident caused acute embarrassment to police and parliamentary authorities.

Other measures under review include the possibility of diverting traffic away from parliament and floating booms in the River Thames, adjoining the building, to guard against water-borne attacks.

A full review of security at the Houses of Parliament is expected to be delivered next month, the Times said.

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