Written question asked by Paul Marsden (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 20 January 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 March 2005. It was answered by Charles Clarke (Labour) on Monday, 21 March 2005 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contingency plans have been prepared for coping with a large scale exodus of people from a city following a terrorist attack.

Answer: Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contingency plans have been prepared for coping with a large scale exodus of people from a city following a terrorist attack. [210891] Mr. Charles Clarke: I have been asked to reply. It would be in extremely unusual circumstances that mass evacuation would be initiated. In such circumstances the existing evacuation and reception planning by local authorities, police and emergency services would come into play. The new regional resilience teams in the Government offices for the regions would be available to assist with co-ordination of incidents affecting several local authority areas. In London, large scale evacuation planning is co-ordained by the London resilience team.

Secondary information