US scientist 'commissioned anthrax report' three years ago

A scientist whose home was searched by FBI agents commissioned a report three years ago depicting a hypothetical anthrax attack by mail, it was reported today.

Dr Steven Hatfill, who has done work on germ defences for the US government, requested the study that described a fictional terrorist attack in which an envelope containing weapons-grade anthrax is opened in an office, the Baltimore Sun said.

The FBI said Dr Hatfill had volunteered to the search of his house earlier this week and was not considered a suspect in the inquiry into the anthrax attacks.

Five people died and 13 were infected when letters laced with the spores were sent to two senators and a series of media outlets last autumn.

Dr Hatfill worked in the virology division of the US Army Medical Institute of Infectious Disease at Fort Detrick, Maryland, base spokesman Chuck Dasey said.

He left in September 1999 and was employed in Virginia-based Science Applications where he commissioned the report. He left the company earlier this year.

The study, written by a veteran of the old US bioweapons programme, discusses the danger of anthrax spores spreading through the air and the requirements for decontamination after various kinds of attacks.

The anthrax attacks, which came in the wake of the September 11 atrocity, caused panic throughout the US and around the world.

Investigators now believe the anthrax letters were not linked to the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks.