Residents lose fight over missiles on tower block

Residents have lost their High Court battle to prevent surface-to-air missiles being stationed on the roof of a 17-storey tower block during the Olympics.

Tenants at the Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone, east London, fear the missile base above their heads could make them the focus for a terrorist attack.

But a judge ruled the Ministry of Defence (MoD) was legally entitled to decide there was “no credible threat” and the siting of the missiles was both “legitimate and proportionate” because of the “unprecedented” circumstances of the Games.

He rejected arguments that it would have been “proportionate” to put residents suffering from fear and anxiety in hotels for the duration of the Games, or to require the MoD to build a gantry in open space to take the missiles.

Lawyers for the residents are considering whether to launch an emergency appeal to the Court of Appeal today. Their solicitor, Martin Howe, said if yesterday’s decision was allowed to stand the residents of the 108 occupied flats would have “missiles on their roof by Friday”.

His partner, David Enright, said the clear implication was that “the MoD now has power to militarise the private homes of any person”, even when there was no war on or state of emergency declared.

He said: “We have always believed an Englishman’s home is his castle – not a forward operating base.

“It is vital that parliament look at this.”