Knightsbridge - Crime and Terrorism

Crime and Terrorism

For centuries the area was renowned as the haunt of highwaymen, robbers and cutthroats targeting travellers on the western route out of London, but its fortunes were transformed in the 19th century.

However, the area has often been a target for high-profile crime. In 1980, the Iranian Embassy siege took place in Knightsbridge, lasting several days. It ended when the Special Air Service stormed the building on live television. In 1983, three Christmas shoppers and three Metropolitan Police officers were killed by an IRA car-bomb placed outside Harrods. In 1987, the Knightsbridge Security Deposit centre was the target of a robbery and the thieves left with a hoard worth £60 million. In 2005, 22-year-old beautician Clare Bernal was gunned down by her stalker and ex-boyfriend Michal Pech on the shopfloor of Harvey Nichols in front of colleagues and shoppers, before Pech fatally turned the gun on himself.

Many residential buildings are heavily covered by CCTV and are staffed by security guards, while railings or bars on lower floor windows are commonplace.