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Pakistani arms dealer and terrorist leader Aamir Barkawi (Alon Moni Aboutboul) is discovered to be the mastermind behind several terrorist attacks around the world. Western intelligence services locate his compound, and the United States launches a drone strike against it, supposedly killing Barkawi along with his family. Two years later, Mike Banning (Gerard Butler), Secret Service agent for President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), is expecting his first child with his wife Leah (Radha Mitchell). Meanwhile, having survived the earlier airstrike, Barkawi meets his son Kamran (Waleed Zuaiter) in Yemen, and the pair plan revenge.
Asher and Banning learn that British Prime Minister James Wilson has died. Along with Secret Service Director Lynne Jacobs (Angela Bassett), they travel to London to join other prominent world leaders for Wilson's funeral. As the dignitaries are arriving, several mercenaries under Barkawi's command initiate an attack, starting with a bomb that destroys the Canadian Prime Minister's limo as it passes through Trafalgar Square, killing him and his wife. Other leaders suffer a similar fate – the Japanese Prime Minister drowns when suicide bombers cause Chelsea Bridge to collapse, the French President perishes in a bomb blast on theRiver Thames that heavily damages Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, the Italian Prime Minister and his wife are killed when one of Westminster Abbey's bell towers is demolished while they are touring it, and the German Chancellor is shot dead by terrorists posing as Queen's Guardsmen at Buckingham Palace. Meanwhile, Asher and the Secret Service men with him engage in a firefight with terrorists disguised as British Police and other emergency responders. Both sides suffer heavy losses before Banning, Asher, and Jacobs escape.
At their base of operations, the terrorists hack into the city's power network, shutting it down. Banning, Asher, and Jacobs head toMarine One for extraction. However, terrorists on building rooftops use Stinger missiles to take out the escorting helicopters before shooting down Marine One. The aircraft crash-lands, resulting in Jacobs being fatally wounded; she dies after making Banning promise to kill those responsible for the carnage. Banning and Asher flee into the deactivated London Underground. Asher notes that the terrorists want to capture him alive so that he may be executed publicly and orders Banning to kill him if necessary to stop that from happening. Banning reluctantly agrees. As they move across the city, Banning contacts Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) and sends the White House a message to let them know that he and Asher are heading for an MI6 safehouse in the city.
The staff at the White House receive a threatening call from Barkawi revealing his role in the plot and his desire for vengeance. They are also informed that Wilson's autopsy report detected poison in his body, revealing that he was intentionally murdered to lure the world leaders to London. With the city in lockdown, Banning and Asher reach the safe-house of MI6 agent Jacqueline "Jax" Marshall (Charlotte Riley). Jax uses her computer to determine Barkawi's involvement. She plays back a message from Trumbull confirming that they received Banning's message and are sending help. On the security cameras, the three see what is supposedly a Delta Force Team there to rescue Banning and Asher. However, Banning notices the operators aren't sweating after supposedly trekking across the city in heavy gear and deduces that they are terrorist impostors. Knowing that the terrorists must have a mole within the British government, Jax heads toScotland Yard to coordinate with local authorities while Banning stays behind to eliminate the terrorists, aided by Asher. The pair then take an MI6 vehicle and head for the U.S. Embassy but are overturned by a van driven by the terrorists. Banning regains consciousness just in time to see Asher being abducted.
Asher is taken to a construction site in the city that serves as the terrorists' secret headquarters. There, Kamran prepares to execute Asher publicly, broadcasting the video feed live around the world. Meanwhile, Banning is found by a unit of SAS commandos, and the group assaults the terrorist stronghold in an attempt to rescue Asher. As millions around the world watch, Kamran brutally beats Asher before preparing to behead him with a machete. At the last moment, Banning bursts in and shoots the terrorists before engaging in a fistfight with Kamran, who manages to flee. Surrounded by more terrorists during their own escape attempt, Banning orders the SAS commander to blow up the building, jumping down a shaft to safety with Asher as the fireball kills Kamran and the remaining hostiles. Jax discovers that MI5 Intelligence Chief John Lancaster (Patrick Kennedy) is the traitor who helped Barkawi and kills him in self-defense after he refuses to be taken into custody. Some time later, Barkawi's compound is located in Yemen, where another drone strike kills him.
Two weeks after the attack on London, Banning is home spending time with Leah and their newborn child, named Lynne after his deceased boss. He sits in front of his laptop and contemplates sending his letter of resignation to Asher. On TV, Trumbull speaks regarding the recent events, leaving an inspiring message that America will prevail. This convinces Banning to delete the letter.
