Businesses warned to take a low profile

Aon has warned big businesses not to present themselves as targets for terrorist attack as it releas...

Aon has warned big businesses not to present themselves as targets for terrorist attack as it released its 2004 Global Terrorism Risk Map.

The map predictably cited Islamic extremist groups such as Al Qaeda as the number one terrorist threat in the UK, with the threat of the IRA and single issue groups such as animal rights protesters featuring much lower down the agenda. Using historical data and charting events over the past year a team of consultants highlighted the key risks affecting each country and estimated which risks were likely to be prevalent over the next year.

Martin Stone, a director at Aon's counter terrorism and political risk division said that, in addition to imposing standard security measures and taking out the appropriate insurance, businesses could reduce their overall vulnerability by making their brand less prominent.

Mr Stone said: "'Annonymisation' is about not making your business a target. Building a big shiny skyscraper with the company name on the top obviously makes you more of a target. The Islamic extremist groups have traditionally looked at iconic targets and focused on toppling towers, as we saw with the World Trade Center attacks."

As such, Mr Stone said the thwarted plot to bomb Old Trafford, Manchester United's home ground, was not surprising. "We are talking here about one of the biggest UK brands in the world."

Mr Stone stated that the risk would displace throughout the UK: "Once authorities focus on the harder targets such as airports, major business centres and iconic targets the risk will displace to softer targets."

But Mr Stone played down forecasts of a 80% - 90% chance of a terrorist attack before May 2005. "The Met police say an attack is inevitable but no one really knows. He added. "Threats have been thwarted but there is no reason to think the threat will decrease. Unlike the IRA, Al Qaeda has no political agenda. Their agenda is to ferment conflict between the West and Islam. This threat will around for atleast us for the next 30 years."

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