What if Big Ben was Attacked Hello and welcome back to Life’s Biggest
Questions, I’m Ron McKenzie-Lefurgey.
With London under frequent threat of terrorist attacks, including photos depicting the Elizabeth
tower burning, many question the consequences of an attack on the great tower and the famous
bell inside it.
Would it happen?
What would happen as a result?
Let’s explore.
If you’re looking for more hypothetical videos, check out our “Biggest What Ifs”
playlist on the channel!
Now get ready, it’s time to ask the question: What if Big Ben was Attacked?
First, I think it’s time to clear up a common misconception about Big Ben.
Many believe Big Ben to be the name given to the beautiful clock tower.
However, it’s actually the name of the famous bell found within the tower, which until recently,
had been ringing on the hour since 1859.
I definitely didn’t just learn about that this year.
Definitely.
When pondering this, there is one bit of information that is highly relevant to this question.
The Elizabeth Tower, the clock tower that contains Big Ben, has been under construction
for almost a year, with three more years planned.
In this time, Big Ben has not been ringing.
This may make the attack less likely now, since any prospective bombers would likely
want to wait until it was fully operational before destroying it, so the act could have
a greater impact.
On top of that, tours have been suspended for the duration of the refurbishment, so
if the attacker’s motive was to take lives as well, this would not be a good time to
do so.
On the other hand, it could be that this construction would make it MORE likely to be attacked,
since it would be easier to infiltrate the building, particularly if disguised as a construction
worker.
If the only motive was to destroy the landmark, and killing people was not the goal, this
could be a golden opportunity for destructive maniacs out there.
If there WAS an attack, the construction would be fairly important.
First, it means the attack would put the lives of many construction workers at risk, which
would be a terrible thing.
However, it could also work in their favour, as there could be additional avenues of escape
with the construction equipment around.
This would also make it easier to repair the more pressing damages, and deal with it right
after the crisis, since much of the necessary equipment would already be on the scene.
If we want an idea of what the response would be to this attack, we can look at a nearby
attack that occurred earlier this year on Westminster Bridge.
Immediately following the incident, emergency services would swarm the scene, and the surrounding
area would be put on lockdown.
Transportation nearby would be shut down, and other tourist attractions might be temporarily
closed as well.
Of course, the houses of parliament would be evacuated for safety reasons, and would
remain closed until the area was deemed safe.
In the long term, this attack would likely bring about an even greater security presence
in national and historic buildings.
Whether this was effective at catching potential attackers, or simply security theatre, the
presence would likely discourage some future attacks.
This would be seen by some as an indicator that the increased security seen after the
Westminster Bridge attack was insufficient.
There’s also a chance that the laws surrounding terrorism would see a tightening.
This was seen following past attacks, both in widening the offenses looked at, and increasing
the penalties for certain offenses.
Another attack on such an important landmark could lead to further increases in this respect.
Finally, if the attacker was apprehended, they would be in for a rough time.
If, like with the Westminster Bridge attack, the attacker or attackers died in the attack,
their name or names would be plastered in headlines across the world.
This is viewed by some to be a negative thing, with claims that the press might inspire others
to follow suit in order to gain infamy.
If the attacker was caught and put on trial, they would likely be punished very harshly,
which should be a surprise to no one.
If convicted, it would be shocking if they didn’t receive a life sentence, likely with
no chance of parole or early release.
Some would call for capital punishment of the attacker, with a recent poll claiming
that almost half of Londoners are in favour of the death penalty for terrorism.
However, since the death penalty was abolished in 1965, this would likely be out of the question.
And now we return to our question: What if Big Ben was Attacked?
Well, for one thing, it would set back the construction quite a bit.
Aside from that, however, it would set off a number of security concerns.
Other landmarks and important buildings would be shut down, and nearby transportation would
be suspended.
In the long term, this would likely lead to a beefed up security presence in these places,
and potentially a tightening of terrorism-related laws.
If the person was captured, they would likely be imprisoned for the rest of their life…
although a lot of people wouldn’t be quite satisfied with that.
Thank you for watching Life’s Biggest Questions, I hope this was interesting and informative,
and maybe even inspired you to look into it further on your own.
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the best of luck, on your quest for answers.