Olympian Shock & Awe

Last week, the residents of Fred Wigg Tower, a 15-storey block in Leytonstone, failed in their attempt to overturn, by judicial review, the Secretary of State’s decision to house a missile defence system on top of their building to protect Olympic Park from terrorist threats.

I’m a little late with this news but the UK Human Rights Blog provides an interesting legal analysis of these surreal goings-on.

The applicants’ argument that the missile installation posed a threat to their building failed because the judge (agreeing with the Secretary of State) considered the risk to be negligible and the decision proportionate and justified under the UK’s duty under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to protect human life at Olympic Park (even if the interference with the residents’ Article 8 rights was considered substantial, which it wasn’t).

ECHR Article 8 deals with the right to private and family life.

The BBC reported the residents couldn't afford to appeal the decision.

Thanks too to the UK Human Rights Blog for putting our minds at rest by quoting the description given to the court of how this bit of tower block heavy weaponry fits into the bigger picture:

“The Plan is necessarily ‘multi-layered’ to ensure that the Olympic Park is protected by concentric lines of defence. This will include the following: (a) temporarily restricted airspace over London for the period of the Games to be in place for the opening of the Olympic Village (mid July); (b) Typhoon fighter jets operating from RAF Northolt; (c) Helicopters operating from HMS OCEAN moored on the Thames at Greenwich and elsewhere; (d) a network of air observers and radars; (e) four Rapiers sites (Blackheath, Oxleas Meadows, Barn Hill, William Girling Reservoir) providing the first part of the Ground Based Air Defence (“GBAD”) system in a ring within 7-14 km of the Park; and (f) two High Velocity Missile (“HVM”) sites overlooking the Park and covering the airspace above and around it forming the inner part of the GBAD system.”

Welcome to dystopia.

What with all this shock & awe, assiduous intellectual property protection and yesterday’s Buckles monstering at the select committee I think I’ll go back to watching Twenty Twelve for light relief.

They couldn’t make it up.

UPDATE 13/8/12

Memo to self: Must learn to be more optimistic! 

Photo from UKHR Blog