UK may cordon off cities after terror attacks

[Woodrow]

LONDON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Britain may impose emergency cordons around London and other major cities to stop people fleeing after a biological terror attack, The Sunday Times reported.

The cordons would be enforced by the military and police to prevent people spreading infection to other parts of the country.

"Existing legislation is not flexible enough to deal with the threats we are facing," a government spokeswoman told Reuters on Sunday.

"On the setting up of health cordons, the law may need to be tightened in this area," she said.

A new civil contingencies bill would allow police and military to quarantine or evacuate people by force, The Sunday Times said.

Professor Michael Langman, of the joint vaccinations and immunisation committee which advises on how to deal with biological warfare threats, said there was concern that people in cities would try to leave after an anthrax or smallpox attack, potentially spreading infection.

"There will certainly be some panic with people jumping into their cars with their families to try to flee the city and avoid contamination, but they would be stopped," he told The Sunday Times.


http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L2921381



My Opinion: This is intresting.

[mauzip]

It's sad that measures like this need to be taken in a world that is not safe anymore...

[Jay ay Beee]

The world was never safe in the first place.  Come on, this country has been bombed to fuck in World War 2, and has been the victim of terrorist bombings for years.  The new fear about terrorism has come about because the American mainland was touched.  Anyone can be got at.  You just gotta decide if you're gonna be sensible, and try and live your life, or be some paranoid wreck.  If your time's up your time is up.  Simple as that.

As for this story, yeah I saw it, it was totally unecessary to release it as a story.  It just gives these paranoid people more fuel to get worried about, and it keeps the "War on terror" on the front pages.  Because, if this War filters out, then people will start looking at other things, and realise how Tony Blair, and to a greater extent Bush, are failing on a domestic basis.