MPs to take part in ‘terror threat’ training exercise amid warnings of 'lack of clarity' at Westminster in event of attack

 
Training: MPs and peers are undergoing the training amid fears Westminster is under-prepared for an attack
13 January 2014

MPs and peers are to take part in an emergency training exercise on how to respond to a terrorist attack that paralyses Parliament.

Commons officials are warning of a “lack of clarity” over how the Commons and Lords would work together during a major incident which could see Parliament forced to relocate. Extra work has been done recently to secure a secret location, codenamed “Charlie”, for Parliament to sit if the Palace of Westminster could not be used.

Officials have been working on detailed plans, have carried out familiarisation visits and reviewed floor planning for the layout of a relocated Parliament. But they now believe that the emergency planning should be upgraded beyond desk-based work.

“While the recent desk-based event had been helpful, there was a need to develop a schedule of exercises,” say minutes of a Commons management board meeting. “Politicians should be involved in future exercises as they would be key players in any real incidents.”

Black Rod, who is responsible for security in the Lords, has been asked to draw up plans for a business resilience exercise. A single structure for both Houses for incident management is being explored on how to respond to a terrorism, major health or other event that disrupts Parliament.

More work is believed to be required on the operation of the parliamentary chambers and committees if MPs and peers were forced to move.

Police are also urging Londoners to be vigilant to the threat of terrorist attacks on shopping centres and rail and bus stations.

The Met is deploying high-visibility patrols around crowded places in a two-week operation starting today. Officers will brief commuters, shoppers and local businesses on how to protect themselves. Commander Richard Morris, from Specialist Operations, said: “The threat to London from terrorism remains real and serious.” The operation, codenamed Penna will run until January 24

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in