Fortress London argues that to address Britain's manifold problems, we need first to end the hegemony of its capital. There was much that was good and useful, alongside much that had me groaning and regretting what I felt was a missed opportunity.

In seeking to find the right balance, governments must consider their actions in absolute/relative terms and implement the most feasible solution (for instance, devices which are less obtrusive or unaesthetic yet equally effective in affording protection). A turret at the top of Lanthorn Tower was used as a beacon by traffic approaching the Tower at night. Marvel at the historic armour of Henry VIII, Charles I and James II in the Line of Kings at the White Tower. It is well known that all national newspapers and broadcasters are headquartered in London which circumscribes their gaze.Bright repeatedly uses Germany as an example of a high productivity and successfully decentralised country, with powerful and strong regional governments. The fact that my first response was surprise, almost the the point of being shocked, that a young journalist who has just published his first book could have gone to the same state sixth form college in Huddersfield as me, rather than having been brought up in London or the South East (and probably also having gone to a private school), captures much of the argument, and the power, of Bright's book. Fitzwalter was still in control of London and the Tower, both of which held out until it was clear that Henry III's supporters would prevail. Following a series of high-profile attacks on US embassies elsewhere in the world—including lethal bombings in 1983 outside the Beirut mission, and then in 1998 at embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, during which 220 embassy workers were killed and thousands more injured—US Congress ruled that all embassies must be set back from the street behind a 100-foot “seclusion zone,” and be built within a self-contained site of at least four and a half acres. The Tower was oriented with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London, which archaeologist Alan Vince suggests was deliberate.

Too often opinion pieces around political issues come across as long rants and not much more than a cry into the abyss. Articles deal with the situations and experiences of people and places struggling to negotiate the opportunities, constraints and risks within contemporary society. Henrietta Williams and George Gingell, Ring of Steel, sentry box and CCTV cameras for license plate recognition, Fleet Street, London, 2010. Its thick glass shell is merely one layer of defense in a sprawling five-acre complex that takes the architecture and urbanism of fear to new heights.Mandeville exploited this, selling his allegiance to Matilda after Stephen was captured in 1141 at the Battle of Lincoln. Bright regularly refers to Hatherley’s ‘Red Metropolis’ to identify the former Labour Leader and his direction of leadership as too London focused, and alienating.

The main entrance to the inner ward would have been through a gatehouse, most likely in the west wall on the site of what is now Beauchamp Tower.The dock was covered with arrowslits in case of an attack on the castle from the River; there was also a portcullis at the entrance to control who entered. This difficulty of location is caused by the concentration of industries such as the arts, media, politics, law, finance and more within London. As the fortified bridge into London was held by Saxon troops, he decided instead to ravage Southwark before continuing his journey around southern England. Blocked battlements (also known as crenellations) in the south side of Legge's Mount are the only surviving medieval battlements at the Tower of London (the rest are Victorian replacements).