SAMs and the Olympics

The MoD is considering siting surface-to-air missiles on top of flats in Tower Hamlets as part of Olympics protection measures. As one might imagine, this has gone down like a lead balloon with the residents:

But estate resident Brian Whelan said firing the missiles "would shower debris across the east end of London".
The journalist said: "At first I thought it was a hoax. I can't see what purpose high-velocity missiles could serve over a crowded area like Tower Hamlets.

Must... restrain... self...

I assume these would be Starstreak LML mounts; these are pretty small missiles (though pack enough of a wallop to take down even the largest plane). Presumably the scenario envisaged is to nail small-to-medium sized suicide planes before they impact the Olympics stadium. Frankly, given the urban density around Tower Hamlets and the Olympics site, if we get as far as having a plane like this within Starstreak range then things have gone pretty pear-shaped already, and it's only a matter of managing where the flaming debris is going to land.

For this reason, I propose moving all major events to the environs of Windsor, so that we can shoot down any offending planes and crash them safely into Slough. At worst this would cause several million pounds worth of urban improvements.