Terror alert after deadly poison found

Fears of a terror attack on Britain were heightened today following the discovery of what appears to have been a makeshift laboratory for concocting the deadly poison ricin.

Six men were arrested after anti-terrorist police raided a one-bedroom flat in Wood Green, north London, and discovered traces of the fatal toxin as well as the ingredients and equipment for making it.

The six were still being questioned today, but it was feared that other suspects with quantities of ricin could still be at large.

GPs and hospitals across the UK have been alerted to look out for anyone with signs of ricin poisoning.

Only minute amounts of the poison, which can be administered by injection, ingestion, inhalation or simply by physical contact, are needed to kill.

There is no known antidote to ricin, which experts say has the potential to be used as a bio-terror agent or weapon of mass destruction.

But experts say ricin is most suited to being used, possibly through an aerosol, in an assassination attempt on a leading public figure rather than a mass attack on a busy civilian target such as the London Underground.

It could also be smeared somewhere where many people would touch it.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, addressing British diplomats at a conference in London yesterday, said the discovery highlighted the “present and real” danger posed by terrorists, while London Mayor Ken Livingstone described the revelations as “chilling“.

Plans by Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network to produce ricin were found in the Afghan capital of Kabul in November 2001.

Iraq is also known to have included ricin in its biological weapons programme.

The six arrested men, who are all of north African origin, were being questioned over possible links to al-Qaida, although none was initially thought to be a major player within the organisation.

Scotland Yard revealed yesterday that anti-terrorist police raided the flat early on Sunday morning after a tip-off just a few days before.

One man was arrested at the flat, which is above a pharmacy, and the others were detained in north and east London. All are in their late teens, twenties or thirties.

A seventh person, a woman, was arrested but later released.

Inside the flat police found traces of ricin, castor oil beans – from which the poison is made – and equipment and receptacles for crushing the beans.

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratories at Porton Down yesterday confirmed that the substance was ricin.

It is the first time since the September 11 terrorist atrocities that such a poison has been found by anti-terrorist police in Britain.

Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner David Veness said: “Ricin is a toxic material which if ingested or inhaled can be fatal – our primary concern is the safety of the public and the police have worked closely with the Department of Health throughout.

“Tests were carried out on the material and it was confirmed that toxic material was present – the department is now alerting the health service, including primary care, about these developments and it is also ensuring that the health service is able to provide advice to the public, including through NHS Direct.

“If any new developments have implications for public safety we will ensure that the public is informed immediately.”

Forensic analysis at the flat, which is being searched by officers wearing protective clothing, is expected to take several days.

Mr Veness said: “While our message is still alert not alarm. We would reiterate our appeals for the public to remain vigilant and aware and report anything suspicious to police.

“We are asking people to be vigilant about their surroundings, particularly in public places and if they see anything suspicious to dial 999 immediately.”

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Pat Troop said ricin symptoms could become apparent within hours.

She said: “Clinical features of ricin poisoning include fever, upset stomach, and coughing.

“Breathing in ricin causes serious lung damage and breathing difficulties, swallowing the poison causes irritation of the gut, gastroenteritis, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting, and effects on the central nervous system have been reported including seizures.

“Effects of exposure to ricin may be delayed for some hours and patients who develop a fever may consult their own doctors.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Ricin has been considered as a potential chemical warfare agent. Although non-volatile, aerosols may be inhaled.

“It is particularly toxic if injected. The fatal dose is thought to be around one microgram per kilogram of body weight.”

Professor Paul Wilkinson, a terrorism expert at St Andrews University, said: “It is very worrying that apparently a large quantity of this very dangerous poison was being held in such close proximity to a variety of different targets in London.”

Bio-terrorism expert Richard Sullivan added: “Ricin has mainly been used in the past as a biological weapon for assassination purposes, it hasn’t been deployed as a weapon for mass destruction before.”

At the flat in High Road, Wood Green, police sealed off several properties above shops.

Ismat Sirtmac, owner of the Liquor Bins off-licence almost directly below the sealed-off flat, said he believed the men had lived there for about two or three months.

Some would go into the shop but they would not buy alcohol.

Another neighbour, grandmother Androulla Kyprianou, 62, said: “I feel we have been put in a great deal of danger. I won’t let my grandchildren come to visit here for a while, it’s a place where they should feel safe but now I feel awful.”

Nurse Suzanne Dooney, 25, who lives directly opposite the flat, said a helicopter had hovered over the road just days before the police raid.

She said: “The first time I saw police in the street was at 11am on Sunday and they were here well into the evening. The following day we saw the police cordon off the alley.”