Moving to America to Protect the Twins PROTECTIVE PAPA “When those kids came along, something primal kicked in, and now George is like a grizzly guarding the den,” says a friend.
GEORGE: George Clooney fears that England isn’t safe enough for his new family
Even before his twins were born on June 6, George Clooney started worrying. “We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger,” the actor and activist explained of how he and wife Amal decided to avoid war-torn areas once they found out they were going to be parents. “I won’t go to South Sudan anymore or the Congo; Amal will no longer go to Iraq.”
But now that Ella and Alexander are here, even England is feeling unsafe for him. “George isn’t an innately fearful person, but the recent terrorist attacks in the U.K. have freaked him out,” says a friend. And while the family’s current home — a 17th-century manor on more than 5 private acres in bucolic Berkshire, England — has an around-the-clock armed security team and several safe rooms with bulletproof doors, George, 56, “doesn’t think it’s enough,” says an insider. “He’s determined to move his family back to LA because he just doesn’t feel Amal and the twins can be safe in the English countryside.”
He’s taking zero chances. “George hired former Secret Service agents to assess all of his properties,” explains the insider. Of the British manor, his Lake Como estate in Italy (see box) and his mansion in LA’S Studio City, the last was deemed the most secure. “It’s a fortress — secluded, but not
remote. George hosted a President Obama fundraiser, and the Secret Service was amazed at how secure the home was.” And unlike their English manor, “It’s within minutes of a police station,” notes the insider. “The LAPD is second to only NYC in terms of preparations for a terrorist attack.”
Amal, 39, thinks George is taking caution to the extreme. “She doesn’t want to live in LA because she hates Hollywood and the movie industry,” says the insider. “Her family is also based in the U.K., and she doesn’t want to move away from them.” Having publicly
challenged ISIS for war crimes, the high-profile human rights attorney is no stranger to threats, but she still “feels that with their financial resources, they will be as safe as they can be,” says the insider. Not only will Ella and Alexander have their own bodyguards, “A security detail will do advance scouting of their destinations, much like the Secret Service does.”
That’s not enough for George. “His feeling is that they will be safer in LA than in the U.K.,” says the insider. “He has waited so long for his family, and now he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.” ◼