There were scenes of jubilation at five venues around London today as it was announced that they had been successful in their bids to be a host site for an Olympic surface to air missile launch pad.
Tower Hamlets council leader Iqbal Mammooz said that he was delighted that the borough had been identified as a prime spot for shooting aircraft out of the sky and hoped that the siting of the missiles would lead to further regeneration of the area.
"I am hoping that this will lead to the creation of local jobs. We have a lot of unemployed young people round here with considerable experience of firing weapons", he said. "It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see the potential they have for shooting down planes"
Just a few miles away in Waltham Forest, councillor Neil Winters was equally excited by the news that they too would be hosting a missile and was quick to dismiss the threat of debris showering his electorate.
"Waltham Forest are proud to be Olympic partners," he announced, "I hope I am able to stand here in August and say that we were the first borough in Olympic history to shoot down a hijacked commercial airliner. If that is at the cost of a few voters then that is a price I am prepared to pay."
Meanwhile a Dagenham and Redbridge council spokesperson said that they were very disappointed to see their neighbours being armed in such a way whilst they were left defenceless. "It would be doing the council tax payers of the borough a disservice to allow an arms gap to open up between us and other boroughs" they said. "We will therefore be stepping up our own missile testing program over the coming months."
