Missile Fired at MI6 HQ in London

L O N D O N, Sept. 21, 2000 -- A small missile struck the headquarters of Britain’s MI6 spy headquarters late Wednesday, police said.

Alan Fry, head of the police department’s anti-terrorist branch, said the missile had hit the eighth floor of the high-security building, made famous in James Bond movies, but had caused only minimal damage and no injuries.

Some witnesses reported hearing two explosions, large enough to send up a plume of white smoke and to rattle buildings across a railway. The blast brought firefighters, police and ambulances to the site on the south bank of the River Thames.

But Fry said business was going on as usual inside the building throughout the night.

Roads, Chunnel Shut Down

Police sealed roads around the area and closed Vauxhall Bridge, causing traffic jams in the city center. Eurostar rail service between London and Paris through the “chunnel” was also suspended as police investigate the incident. Most service was expected to resume later today.

“We all need to be vigilant. We have a general threat of terrorism in London,” said Fry.

There was no warning, Fry said, and no claims of responsibility have been made yet for the blast, which rocked central London at about 10 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

IRA Splinter Group?

“Clearly I have to keep in mind the capability of dissident Irish groups, but at this stage I would not be ruling out any other group who might see the secret intelligence service as a potential target,” he said.

He added: “The sheer nature of work of the secret intelligence service must mean that there are other terrorist groups throughout the world who might see their premises as a potential target.”

But Fry said he doubted the projectile was a mortar shell.

“In all probability I would doubt it is a mortar — I would have expected more substantial damage,” he said.

Suspicion the attack could be the work of an IRA splinter group is bolstered by similarities to a 1991 attack on Downing Street. The IRA fired a mortar at the official residence of the prime minister during a Gulf War Cabinet meeting, presided over by John Major.

No one was injured.

Seeking Attention?

London police said the small nature of the device, combined with the well-known security of the famous edifice, suggested that whoever carried out the attack was trying to create headlines rather than cause damage or kill people.

If that’s the case, it worked: the BBC was providing extensive coverage of the incident.

As daylight hits London, police will examine the building and surrounding area. Roads will likely remain closed, although police did not say for how long.

The Foreign Office, which is responsible for MI6, said it was aware of an “incident” near the futuristic building at Vauxhall Cross — which stands less than a mile away from Parliament and other government buildings, and probably one of the most secure and closely guarded compounds in Britain.

“We are aware there was an incident,” a government spokesman said. “We don’t have any details as to precisely what was involved. We’re not aware of any casualties.”

Witnesses Thought It Was Fireworks

“We just heard two God-almighty bangs, a loud one first, and then another one,” said Theresa Harding, 68, who lives nearby. “We honestly thought it was fireworks.”

One witness, Andrew Preece, told BBC News 24 he was driving home when he saw a flash of light coming from the top of the MI6 building.

“It looked as of it was internal from the center of the building but the flash of light was from the top of the building,” he said. “It was followed by a large bang and the ground seemed to shake and my car was shaking.”

Heightened Security

Earlier this year, the Foreign Office said it was tightening security procedures after reported lapses.

In March, a laptop computer that contained missing training information for one of Britain’s spy agencies was mislaid and recovered by police two weeks later. News reports suggested that an MI6 agent left the laptop in a taxi after spending a night drinking at a bar near the agency’s headquarters.

MI6, formed in 1921, is responsible for foreign intelligence. It is thought to cooperate closely with the domestic security service MI5 in keeping track of Irish terror groups.

The high-tech spy headquarters, featured in the film The World Is Not Enough, bristles with security features. Much of the complex is below street level to protect the most sensitive areas from terrorist attacks.

ABCNEWS.com’s Lucrezia Cuen in London, ABCNEWS’ London bureau, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story