diff --git a/Control/SGTools/CMakeLists.txt b/Control/SGTools/CMakeLists.txt
index 70140c28792bd978cdecb47ba16c78cb82684dc1..e0b684dd9af58c71b5952da5a80f43a6d167bf5b 100644
--- a/Control/SGTools/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/Control/SGTools/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -25,11 +25,6 @@ atlas_add_test( VersionedKey_test
test/VersionedKey_test.cxx
LINK_LIBRARIES SGTools )
-atlas_add_test( safe_clid_test
- SOURCES
- test/safe_clid_test.cxx
- LINK_LIBRARIES SGTools )
-
atlas_add_test( exceptions_test
SOURCES
test/exceptions_test.cxx
diff --git a/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.h b/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.h
deleted file mode 100755
index 5e2d36b25abc2030ba6e6059bfdad329bf9c7852..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,58 +0,0 @@
-// This file's extension implies that it's C, but it's really -*- C++ -*-.
-
-/*
- Copyright (C) 2002-2017 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration
-*/
-
-// $Id: safe_clid.h,v 1.2 2005-11-08 22:01:30 ssnyder Exp $
-
-/**
- * @file SGTools/safe_clid.h
- * @author scott snyder
- * @date Nov 2005
- * @brief Find the class ID of a type, without triggering an error
- * if it isn't defined.
- *
- * The general interface for finding the class ID for some type @a T
- * is to use @a ClassID_traits<T>::ID(). However, if no class ID
- * has been defined for @a T, this will result in a compilation error.
- * In some cases, where the class ID can be considered optional, this
- * can severely restrict the applicability of generic code.
- *
- * This header provides @a SG::safe_clid<T>(), which should return
- * the class ID of @a T, or @a CLID_NULL if @a T does not have a defined
- * class ID (without causing an error).
- *
- * The implementation relies on the fact that when the class ID traits
- * class gets specialized for a specific class ID, it defines
- * @a has_classID_tag. The @a CLASS_DEF macro makes this definition,
- * but if you specialize @a ClassID_traits yourself, you must remember
- * to include @a has_classID_tag, or this function won't work.
- */
-
-#ifndef SGTOOLS_SAFECLID_H
-#define SGTOOLS_SAFECLID_H
-
-
-#include "GaudiKernel/ClassID.h"
-
-
-namespace SG {
-
-
-/**
- * @brief Return the class ID of @a T, or @a CLID_NULL if it doesn't
- * have one. Avoids compilation errors if the class ID
- * is not defined.
- */
-template <class T>
-CLID safe_clid();
-
-
-} // namespace SG
-
-
-#include "SGTools/safe_clid.icc"
-
-
-#endif // not SGTOOLS_SAFECLID_H
diff --git a/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.icc b/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.icc
deleted file mode 100755
index b1e98dabdea3af706b4a74db82913045a8a48c93..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/Control/SGTools/SGTools/safe_clid.icc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,121 +0,0 @@
-/*
- Copyright (C) 2002-2017 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration
-*/
-
-// $Id: safe_clid.icc,v 1.2 2007-12-14 03:12:34 binet Exp $
-/**
- * @file SGTools/safe_clid.icc
- * @author scott snyder
- * @date Nov 2005
- * @brief Find the class ID of a type, without triggering an error
- * if it isn't defined.
- * Implementation file.
- */
-
-#include "AthenaKernel/ClassID_traits.h"
-#include "AthenaKernel/tools/type_tools.h"
-#include "boost/type_traits/remove_pointer.hpp"
-
-
-namespace SG {
-
-
-//-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Here's the first part. @a safe_clid has the job of calling one of the
-// two @a safe_clid_1 overrides, depending on the state of the traits
-// class @a has_classID_tag definition. We want the first one to be called
-// when @a has_classID_tag is @a true_tag, and the second to be called
-// in other cases (including the possibility that the typedef does not exist).
-// There are three possibilities to consider.
-//
-// 1. The traits class defines @a has_classID_tag as @a true_tag.
-// Here, both decl 1 and 2 match the call. It turns out
-// that we can't use partial ordering to discriminate between
-// these two on the basis of the tag (second) argument alone.
-// That's the purpose of the first (dummy) argument. By making
-// it a pointer in decl 1 and completely generic in decl 2,
-// we ensure that decl 1 is a more specific match when both
-// decls are allowed.
-//
-// 2. The traits class defines @a has_classID_tag as something
-// other than @a true_tag. In this case, decl 1 doesn't match
-// the call, but decl 2 will. So decl 2 will be called.
-//
-// 3. The traits class has no definition for @a has_classID_tag.
-// In this case, the type named in decl 1 does not exist.
-// However, that is @e not an error --- it just means that
-// decl 1 won't be considered as a candidate overload.
-// (Look up ``substitution failure is not an error'' (SFINAE).)
-// So again, decl 2 gets called. Note that the requirement
-// to handle this case (which comes about because the unspecialized
-// version of @a ClassID_traits does not define this typedef)
-// is why this may look backwards, using @a true_tag in the call,
-// and the traits class typedef in the argument.
-
-
-// Decl 1
-template <class T>
-CLID safe_clid_1 (T*, typename ClassID_traits<T>::has_classID_tag);
-
-// Decl 2
-template <class T, class U>
-CLID safe_clid_1 (T, U);
-
-// This is the public entry point.
-template <class T>
-CLID safe_clid()
-{
- return safe_clid_1 ((T*)0, std::true_type());
-}
-
-
-//-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Here is the definition for decl 1. This gets called when the
-// traits class defines @a has_classID_tag as @a true_tag.
-// So we can go ahead and ask for the ID in this case.
-
-template <class T>
-CLID safe_clid_1 (T*, typename ClassID_traits<T>::has_classID_tag)
-{
- return ClassID_traits<T>::ID();
-}
-
-
-//-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Here is the definition for decl 2. This gets called when the traits
-// class does not define @a has_classID_tag is @a true_tag.
-// But there is one further decision to be made. If @a T derives
-// from @a DataObject, then we can still get the class ID.
-// Otherwise, we must return @a CLID_NULL.
-
-// This is called if @a T does not derive from @a DataObject.
-// Return @a CLID_NULL.
-template <class T, bool B>
-struct safe_clid_2
-{
- static CLID clid() { return CLID_NULL; }
-};
-
-// This specialization is used if @a T does derive from @a DataObject.
-// This returns the class ID.
-template <class T>
-struct safe_clid_2<T, true>
-{
- static CLID clid() { return ClassID_traits<T>::ID(); }
-};
-
-// This is the definition corresponding to decl 2 above.
-// We test @a s_isDataObject in the traits class.
-// Note that here @a T will be a pointer to the class we're
-// actually interested in, so we need to strip a pointer.
-template <class T, class U>
-CLID safe_clid_1 (T, U)
-{
- typedef typename boost::remove_pointer<T>::type typ;
- return safe_clid_2<typ, ClassID_traits<typ>::s_isDataObject>::clid();
-}
-
-
-} // namespace SG
-
-
diff --git a/Control/SGTools/share/safe_clid_test.ref b/Control/SGTools/share/safe_clid_test.ref
deleted file mode 100644
index e69de29bb2d1d6434b8b29ae775ad8c2e48c5391..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
diff --git a/Control/SGTools/test/safe_clid_test.cxx b/Control/SGTools/test/safe_clid_test.cxx
deleted file mode 100755
index f7ff6f251fbdd8949217f75095048b66d8b65b58..0000000000000000000000000000000000000000
--- a/Control/SGTools/test/safe_clid_test.cxx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-/*
- Copyright (C) 2002-2017 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration
-*/
-
-#undef NDEBUG
-
-#include "SGTools/safe_clid.h"
-#include "AthenaKernel/CLASS_DEF.h"
-#include "GaudiKernel/DataObject.h"
-#include <cassert>
-
-#include <iostream>
-
-struct A {};
-struct B {};
-CLASS_DEF (B, 98765, 0)
-struct C
- : public DataObject
-{
- static const CLID& classID() { static const CLID clid = 44444; return clid; }
-};
-
-int main()
-{
- assert (SG::safe_clid<int> () == 0);
- assert (SG::safe_clid<A> () == 0);
- assert (SG::safe_clid<B> () == 98765);
- assert (SG::safe_clid<C> () == 44444);
- return 0;
-}
-