A leading British security expert appointed by the Melbourne Cricket Ground has "warned that Australia's biggest stadium remains vulnerable to terrorist attacks," according to Caroline Wilson of THE AGE. The warning came as stadium CEO Stephen Gough confirmed an outer perimeter fence "could still be built around the MCG before the start of the next football season," conceding the venue faces "unique challenges" in the face of Australia's "probable" threat level. Sue Wilkinson, who headed London Olympic Games Intelligence for the British government, was appointed to the MCG amid the Australian Football League's "dispute with the clubs over who should carry the costs of the game's beefed-up security." While the AFL "remains lukewarm" on the prospect of a "ring of steel" surrounding the MCG on match days, Gough said that he "remained determined to explore an improved structure to the temporary fencing put in place over the most recent cricket season." Gough said that Wilkinson, who "quietly came on board in a newly created senior security role in May," had recently told the Melbourne Cricket Club committee members and trustees that Australia "remained a probable target for a terrorist attack and that the MCG remained vulnerable." Gough: "We are not locked into an outer perimeter. What we are locked into is taking our security to a level that is required in the current environment" (THE AGE, 8/1).
