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By Jason Moore THE new person charged with the security of London may like to know that the New York police have been given the green light to search all people carrying rucksacks on the New York metro. Perhaps he or she would also like to know that the security systems which New York has put in place following the September 11 attacks appear to be working. These include a police officer on almost every underground train and police on duty at most metro stations. Sniffer dogs and equipment which detects explosives has also been introduced. I say the new security chief, because the person charged with this job at the moment, has obviously got to resign following the second terrorist attack in two weeks. While the British government and the spin doctors are keen to play the “spirit of the blitz” card, they are also quick to point out that little can be done to protect the city from suicide bombers. The spin doctors might also be reminded that London at that time was defended by “The Few” who against all odds managed to turn the tide. My heart goes out to Londoners at the moment who are being brave because circumstances beyond their control have put them in the firing line. I would also like to remind the “spirit of the blitz” merchants that the people at the top in 1940 also made an important effort. The only person in power I have seen taking the tube to work is Mayor Ken Livingstone. Surely one of the “minor” royals, whose grandparents refused to leave the capital and who later visited the scene of the bombings in 1940 could be asked to make an effort and show some solidarity. “Only now I feel that I can look the people of the East End in the face,” their grandmother was quoted as saying after living through an attack on the Palace. The only people showing the spirit of 1940 at the moment are Londoners themselves who are being asked to be almost impossibly brave.