A contingency that the London Resilience Partnership has planned for is the need to evacuate parts of Greater London. Although no specific threat which would make this necessary currently exists, it is one of the many contingencies we have to be prepared for.

London Evacuation

Large scale evacuation of the capital would be used only as a last resort, with our aim being to save lives immediately following or before an emergency. The generic plan for the partial evacuation of Greater London developed by the London Resilience Partnership is called ‘Operation Sassoon’.

It is designed to be used in the areas of London at the greatest risk, but is flexible enough to be used anywhere in the capital. Operation Sassoon has been developed so that we can respond to any eventuality; be it terrorist related, natural disaster, industrial accident or any other emergency that might require the partial evacuation of the capital.

Operation Sassoon has been developed by the London Resilience Partnership with the assistance of over 250 organisations as diverse as:

• Metropolitan Police Service
• London Ambulance Service
• London Fire Brigade
• Transport for London
• DEFRA
• the Health & Safety Executive
• Local Authorities
• agencies from the voluntary sector
• regional partners such as:
  • Government Office for the South East
  • Government Office for the East of England
• a host of private organisations

These organisations have worked together to ensure that in the event of an emergency, the responding services are able to move rapidly to facilitate the large scale evacuation of part of Greater London.

The London Resilience Partnership has identified key transport links to enable the emergency services and transport agencies to evacuate members of the public away from the area of an emergency as safely and as quickly as possible.

Further arrangements have been made within London and with agencies beyond the capital to ensure that those leaving the city using private transport can do so unhindered.

The London Resilience Partnership also continues to work to ensure that the most vulnerable members of society can be safely moved from the capital in the event of an emergency.

The plans for Operation Sassoon are constantly being developed and reviewed to ensure that the London Resilience Partnership provides the public with the best possible outcome in the event of an emergency that requires the partial evacuation of the capital.

It is important to remember that evacuation would only be used as a last resort and in most circumstances the best and safest action would be to – go in, stay in, tune in.

Further Information