Tenants challenge Olympic missiles

Council tenants have launched legal proceedings over the possibility of surface-to-air missiles being stationed on the roof of their tower block during the Olympics.

Solicitors instructed by the residents' association at the Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone, east London, lodged papers for the action at the Royal Courts of Justice.

The association, Harrow Community Support, is seeking an injunction preventing the ground-based air defence system being deployed above the heads of families living in the block's 117 flats.

It is also applying for judicial review on the grounds that residents' human rights have been breached because they were not consulted over the proposals.

Ministry of Defence officials are considering deploying the weapons across six sites in the capital if there is a security scare during the Games. The move is yet to be confirmed.