Originally Posted by
measures
I can understand the OP's concern. What sort of country is it, where everyone is on CCTV and searched like that? Maybe I'm getting old, but I'm less and less inclined to visit UK, what with this sort of thing, and armed patrols in the airport lounge (esp Gatwick), which I find very scary.
It's a country which has been subjected to domestic terrorism, and while the risks of domestic terrorism have changed over the years, they still exist.
Vertigo 42 is at the top of what for many years was the UK's tallest building, and that's why it has been a target for terrorism before.
I don't know where you are, but to put it in a US context, visiting Tower 42 is much like visiting the Empire State Building. Its website says: "All visitors to the Empire State Building must pass through primary security screening, similar to airport security procedure, before going to the Observatory."
Or the Eiffel Tower: "Security checks will be carried out before entry to the Eiffel Tower. For reasons of security and safety, visitors are required to open their bags and packages and present or disclose the contents at the entrance to or exit from the monument, or in any other part of the monument upon request from personnel or security guards. "
It's possible that the OP didn't realise that Vertigo was in a location regarded as a potential terrorist target, and perhaps that should be clearer on the website, but I don't think the UK is significantly out of step in terms of its response to terrorism.