Daily Telegraph: There are now just 80 days to go before the start of the Great Siege of London, when the daily routines of millions of the capital’s citizens are to be subjected to military diktat. Forget the excitement of the sporting performances at the London 2012 Olympics. The Government’s decision to stage the biggest-ever peacetime display of the nation’s military firepower is set to rival anything the world’s leading athletes can offer at the various Olympic venues.
In scenes reminiscent of the Blitz, a new generation of heavily armed Typhoon interceptors and anti-aircraft missile batteries will be stationed among the city’s residential districts ready to shoot down any rogue plane at a moment’s notice.
The majestic reaches of the River Thames will provide temporary shelter for the Royal Navy’s largest warship, HMS Ocean, where teams of Royal Marines will be on 24-hour standby to deal with a terrorist attack. And in the city itself highly trained Special Forces units will mingle with the crowds on the look-out for suspicious characters. Heaven help the playful parent who uses a water pistol to cool down their over-excitable children in the summer heat.