London, Sept 08: Twenty-first century chemical terrorism came to the heart of the British capital on Sunday but only as a surreal simulated attack, as the largest, most sophisticated, live counter-terrorism operation ever was openly staged in a key Western city.
The chemical attack, which did not feature real chemicals or members of public, took more than a year to plan and featured a horror scenario described by one government minister as "a nightmare preparation for the unthinkable".



London police and its mayor denied the exercise was a response to any specific threat, but the simulation comes just months after MI5's new chief declared an attack on London to be "a realistic possibility". A senior London police officer said a terrorist attack was "inevitable".



Sunday's simulation was designed to test the response of the police, ambulance and fire services to a terrorist attack on one of the world's leading financial cities. It took place in London's financial district, on a local train line normally used by bankers, stock-brokers and businessmen from around the world.

The scenario acted out on London's massive and allegedly at-risk underground train network was described as similar to the sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995.


British home secretary David Blunkett said, "Our exercise programme leads the way in counter-terrorist planning and is one of the best in the world; hijacks, chemical and biological attacks and nuclear devices have featured in recent scenarios".


Observers said the London counter-terrorism scene, featuring men in chemical protection suits, with brand-new decontamination units never seen before in public, was virtually like a Hollywood Armageddon. The reference is thought to indicate the sheer surreal nature of a mock exercise in mass murder and mayhem on live television.



London Metropolitan Police denied it was putting ideas into terrorists' heads or "doing the terrorists' job for them by spelling out all the precautions and deterrents put in place" to protect London.



But the simulation is thought to indicate just how jumpy the British authorities are, after the UK pledged its troth to the US in the war on terror.