London Olympics: ‘We’re going to put missiles on your roof’, soldiers tell families

THE army is set to site surface-to-air missiles on top of a block of residential flats during the Olympics.

Residents in the private, gated flats in Bow, east London, have received a leaflet warning them that a team of ten soldiers and police will be stationed at the building – home to 700 people – for the duration of the Games.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) leaflet says the missiles will be fired only as a last resort.

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It says: “Having a 24/7 armed forces and police presence will improve your local security and will not make you a target for terrorists.

“The location has been chosen as it is situated close to the Olympic Park and offers an excellent view of the surrounding area and the entire sky above the Olympic Park.

“The top of the tower also offers a flat, uncluttered and safe area from which to operate.”

High-velocity missiles (HVM) are described by the army as designed to counter threats from “very high-performance, low-flying aircraft”, fired from the shoulder, from lightweight multiple launchers or from armoured vehicles.

Resident and journalist Brian Whelan said he was not sure if the officers and soldiers would live in the building, or if it would become a temporary army base.

Mr Whelan said: “They are going to have a test run next week putting high-velocity missiles on the roof just above our apartment, and on the back of it they’re stationing police and military in the tower of the building for two months.

“It’s a private, gated community with an old watch tower, which is now a lift shaft.

“The general tone of it all was ‘Great news, aren’t we lucky?’, but that’s not normal, it’s not something people should have put on them.

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“I don’t think they’re the kind of thing you can fire over a highly populated area like Tower Hamlets – think of the debris.

“It says the missiles will only be used as a last resort. It’s totally unsuitable.”

Mr Whelan added: “From the few people I’ve spoken to, and the security we have here, they’re not happy about it.”

An MoD spokesman said it had announced before Christmas that a ground-based air defence system could be used as part of the Games security.

He said: “Based on military advice, we have identified a number of sites and, alongside colleagues from the Metropolitan Police, are talking to authorities and relevant landowners to help minimise the impact of any temporary deployments.

“As part of our ongoing planning, we can confirm site evaluations have taken place. However, no final decision on whether or not to deploy ground-based air defence systems for the Games has been taken.”

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