City terror attack 'inevitable'

It is only a matter of time before London's financial heartland is attacked by terrorists, the police chief responsible for the area says.

City of London Police Commissioner James Hart told the Financial Times potential targets had been staked out several times since 11 September. "Hostile reconnaissance" had been disrupted, but no suspects had been arrested over this so far, he said.

Mr Hart also said that only 50% of firms had Business Continuity or contingency plans in place. 'When, not if' The mindset of the would-be terrorist meant that the financial centres of western governments were prime targets, he said. "If you want to hurt the government, hurt people at the same time, and you want to cause maximum disruption...where better to hit than at the financial centre?"

Mr Hart also pointed out that the City of London had been a target for terror attacks for 30 years, highlighting the number of times the area had been hit by the IRA. "I think it is a matter of when, rather than if." P

otential targets included prominent sites and business - "anywhere where the maximum damage can be inflicted on the financial systems," he said.

Sites where an attack was likely to cause large numbers of casualties and maximum disruption were also likely targets, the police commissioner added.

Continuity Forum Comment

Commissioner Harts comments coming so soon after the attacks on the 7/7 clearly indicate the level of concern of police and security services have over the risks of further terrorist violence in the capital. Of particular interest to us is the raising of the level of planning within organisations at a time when the risks could not be higher.

Organisations of all types must ensure that they have effective Business Continuity Plans in place and that staff are aware of the emergency procedures.

In our opinion and that of our legal counsel, organisations not implementing Business Continuity Management and rehearsing their emergency procedures are clearly negligent with regard to their duty of care to personnel and other stakeholders. This negligence leaves them open to both extended losses and significant claims for damages and loss, which could cripple the company following an incident.

We would ask that people working not just in the City, but across the country start asking the employers who have yet to make provision for Business Continuity WHY?

Directors need to act now to resolve the issues of planning and ensure a proper and responsible focus on protecting their staff and the interests of other stakeholders. I

It should be noted that following 7/7 legal claims are now in the initial stages of seeking damages. We have already reported that many insurance policies do explicitly exclude losses from terrorist acts and we further recommend that policies are reviewed and updated if required, particularly in relation to the personnel issues.

On a more positive note, we have been working for over three years with both the City of London and the Corporation of London and in our opinion there is probably no area of the country better prepared to deal a major incident.

We have already run a number of events in association with both the City Police and the Corporation providing support and information to organisations and there will be further sessions in the coming months. For further information on these please contact us directly.

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