Electric fence may be used to protect Big Ben from terror attack: report

[Champ]

LONDON (AFP) - Big Ben, the famous clock tower on Britain's Houses of Parliament, could be surrounded by an electric fence as part of new security measures to shield it from terrorists and publicity-seeking protestors, a report said.


It is likely to be installed as an interim measure around part of the perimeter of the House of Commons to protect Big Ben, considered a trophy target for terrorists, the Times newspaper said.


House of Commons' authorities have ordered security officials to examine the possibility of running an electric current through strengthened fencing, the report said.


"We will look in the shorter term at having better fencing and possibly electrifying it," an unnamed Commons source was quoted as telling the paper.

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