June 2004. Operation Sassoon would see railway stations outside the capital receiving Londoners escaping a disaster. Local authorities in neighbouring counties were deeply concerned that the local infrastructure would not cope with the sheer volume of people fleeing the capital. They have stressed to the London Resilience Forum that evacuation should be used as a last resort and only in the most "catastrophic of circumstances". The planning details for Operation Sassoon are being kept secret, hence no details being published by the Government or the media. As of August 2005, a Google search for the term brought up only 237 hits. Websites such as the Hampshire County Council website include some of the scarce traces of Operation Sassoon information on the internet. There are plans to update the current Operation Sassoon have been subject to some disagreement between partners within London and the surrounding regions. It is unlikely that the new plan will be delivered for the August 2007 deadline. Preparation for Operation Sassoon On 7 September 2003, the emergency services in London conducted a terrorism preparation exercise for the early stages of Operation Sassoon at Bank Underground station. Since 2003, there have been six large-scale live exercises and 32 "tabletop exercises" that test the effectiveness of strategic plans. In July 2004, the London Resilience Forum announced in its second annual report its intention to develop detailed support plans for each agency involved in Operation Sassoon, including a communications strategy and "tabletop exercises" to test more detailed overall plans. According to The Sun's newspaper article of 21 September 2004, road signs have been built by the Highways Agency ready for use in a major alert and road routes to be used in the event of such a disaster have been laid out. Towns such as High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire are earmarked as temporary care shelters for evacuees. External links Hampshire County Council's emergency website for Operation Sassoon The London Resilience Forum's Strategic Emergency Plan (PDF file) A Press Complaints Commission decision on a complaint made by John Prescott MP over articles published in the Sunday Express on Operation Sassoon in September 2004. Is the South East prepared? Connecting in a Crisis, an initiative by the BBC to inform the public during a civil emergency. Safety