Post by Mech on May 8, 2005 15:14:07 GMT -5
Corporate elite prepare secret HQs to escape G8 chaos in capital
news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=496222005
GUY DIXON AND KATE FOSTER
FEARS of violent protest at this summer’s G8 summit have led six of Scotland’s biggest companies to draw up detailed evacuation plans.
The blue chip firms - which include HBOS and Abbey - will respond to attacks on their Edinburgh offices by shipping staff to a secret hideaway from where they can carry on their business.
Hundreds of anti-capitalist protesters are expected to descend on Scotland during the three-day summit, and there are fears major businesses could be prime targets for anarchists.
Such is the level of concern, the six companies involved have already tested their evacuation plan. Last month, staff were transferred from their Edinburgh offices to a "recovery centre" in nearby Livingston, West Lothian.
More than 400 workers were involved in the test, relocating to premises owned by US disaster recovery group Sungard, where they were able to continue working.
The test was designed to simulate what would happen if their offices became unusable in the event of a wide-scale power loss or crowd trouble.
Although the summit itself is taking place at Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, demonstrators will also descend on Edinburgh, 40 miles away, which is one of Europe’s biggest financial centres and home to some of the UK’s biggest companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Life.
It is thought Scotland’s capital will be the focal point for G8 demonstrators, rather than Gleneagles, because it will be difficult for large numbers of protesters to get close to the summit venue. More than 200,000 people are expected to join the Make Poverty History march in the city on Saturday July 2.
Although the demonstration is expected to be peaceful, police are bracing themselves for riots and hundreds of Scottish officers are undergoing training in crowd control.
Recent G8 summits have attracted large and often violent protests. In June 2003, 50,000 protesters fought battles with riot police in Evian and Geneva, and in 2001, a protester was killed by police and hundreds injured during riots in Genoa.
Big financial institutions in particular are concerned about the potential impact that a disaster could have on their business if rioters or hackers interrupted customer services or internal communications.
Rob Thomson, marketing director at Sungard, said: "It could be G8, or it could be a power failure that meant several companies had to move out to the same premises. The customers wanted to ask, ‘In real life, if a number of us had to get together, let’s see how it would happen’."
HBOS has already temporarily moved out of its historic HQ on The Mound in Edinburgh to less conspicuous offices in the city while the building is refurbished.
But like most companies involved, HBOS operates several facilities in Edinburgh, where it handles customer contact centres, payroll and money-handling services.
Companies spend thousands of pounds each year renting facilities and storing back-up data from companies such as Sungard.
Clive Fairweather, one of Scotland’s leading security consultants and second in command of the SAS at the time of the 1980 Iranian embassy siege, said Edinburgh and its internationally recognised businesses were more likely to be targeted than Gleneagles.
He said: "I think it is far more likely there will be protests in cities like Edinburgh than at the summit itself. We have seen from previous G8 summits not to hold them in cities and that’s why they picked Gleneagles, as it’s fairly impregnable, in the middle of nowhere, like a castle with a moat.
"But if we have protesters they want to be seen on the international stage, so although there is huge security for the VIPs at Gleneagles itself, ironically this has created bigger problems for the cities.
"Not being able to march on Gleneagles does raise the spectre of things happening in Scotland’s capital. Edinburgh will mean something across the world and so will these big firms.
"I think it is necessary for big businesses to have contingency plans but not to shut down and run away."
The fast-food giant McDonald’s, which has been hit by angry protests at all recent G8 summits, is planning to close its Edinburgh restaurant branches during the protests.
Between 7,500 and 10,000 police officers will be on duty when the leaders of the world’s most powerful countries meet in Perthshire.
Leaders from the UK, United States, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Italy and Russia will meet at Gleneagles for the highlight of Britain’s leadership of the G8 this year.