Royal Navy Disposes of WWII Bomb Found in London

The Royal Navy has disposed of a Second World War bomb found near the Houses of Parliament in the River Thames.

Bomb disposal experts from the Portsmouth-based Southern Diving Unit 2 were called at 1915 hours on Thursday by the Metropolitan Police to London’s Westminster Bridge.The bomb had been found by a dredger operating in the Thames near Victoria Embankment.

It was eventually towed along the Thames and out towards Tilbury, where it was safely detonated at around 0600 on Friday morning.

“It was a long night for me and the team but this is exactly what we are trained for so it was a successful operation, although it was a little surreal carrying out our job right next to the Houses of Parliament,” said Lieutenant Mike St Pierre, the officer who led the bomb disposal team on scene.

“I’d like to thank the authorities who worked with us so well on this operation, particularly the Met Police. The bomb itself was in good condition considering how old it was, and it clearly still presented a danger.”

"We removed it from the barge and towed it along the Thames, working very closely with the Met Police to safely close off bridges as we went, until we were sure we could detonate it safely.”