• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

I did not know London's topography changed that often. You said it is quite likely in a catastrophic incident that the advice will be to stay indoors, basically, but how will you manage a spontaneous, fear-led mass exodus, when people panic? What have you got in place for that?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

What age have they reached - not infancy?

• Question by: Lynne Featherstone
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

On what you were saying about the generic framework for evacuation, Operation Sassoon, at that time, the progress report admitted that the plans were in place, but sort of in their infancy, and that detailed support plans for each agency involved, a communication strategy, and more detailed overall organisation needed to be worked on. Are you saying you have now worked on them, and they are completed, or will they be still in their infancy?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Excuse me, did you not recognise this 17 years ago during the King's Cross fire? Are you saying that we have not moved on from there, and is it not about time that something was resolved, and you could all speak together?

• Question by: Jennette Arnold OBE
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

I just want to follow up the work about working together in this MAIAT. I am confident when you are all in a room, yes, you are all working together, but it has been reported to me that none of your communication systems actually connect with each other. Therefore, what happens at the operational level, if you are all running on different communications systems? Is that high up on the agenda? I am thinking about the command, really. I am not talking about people putting out fires. I am talking about the connection between the fire service, the police, the...

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Roy Bishop added:

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

I am trying to get my head round this, and I have written down 'complementary specialisms, information flow, early advice, and then the crunch, which is marshalling resources to the scene.' Can you just tell me, what difference will it make, if you actually have this? What difference will it make, if there is a catastrophic event?

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Commander Mick Messinger added:

• Question by: Nicky Gavron
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

Philip Selwood added:

• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 08 December 2004

I will direct my comments to Roy Bishop. You can well appreciate the residents of central London are particularly concerned, because the likelihood of a catastrophic incident will be that it is one of the landmarks of central London, so I welcome your response. Do your comments also cover the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea? Also, there is another issue in central London - the closure of Manchester Square. Can you confirm to me that that would not adversely affect the LFB's capability of dealing with a catastrophic incident in central London?