I'm not British - not that it should really make a difference, as I really ought to feel similar empathy with the victims in London as I would with people in Australia (where I am), and do with those who are also suffering in Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Chechnya and so on. We're all human.
I don't see that the jokes in the original post were poor taste, especially as they were at the expense of conspiracy theorists rather than victims.
Martian:
Quite so, but don't forget Men From Mars (you should know...).
My impression (though from what evidence, I couldn't say) was that the exercise was more of an office-based one. One where the management teams of the emergency services practise communication within themselves and between each other, sort out the "thinking power loop paradigm" (or other consultant-speak) and decide on appropriate checklists or processes to follow in similar emergencies. Certainly I didn't agree with the writer of the article that accompanied the video (
LINK) when he suggested about the people running the exercise: "
...which bills itself as a 'crisis management' advice company, better known to you and I as a PR firm."
WillyPete:
Those simulated attacks you mention, did they close off streets and run full scale mock-ups? I'm curious. It reminds me of films set in the Cold or World Wars where Civil Defense workers have big exercises with people running around with and white red chalk marking people as 'wounded' or 'dead'.