Fear of anthrax swept across London and Britain yesterday as suspect packages sparked a series of security alerts and saw at least 18 people undergoing medical checks.
The scares followed the latest high profile anthrax attack on the Senate leader in Washington and mounting evidence that the series of incidents from the US Capitol to Florida may be part of Osama bin Laden's terrorist assault.
Anti-terrorist officers were called to investigate a suspect package at the London Stock Exchange, while police investigated separate alarms at the Local Government Association offices in central London, and a postal sorting office in Liverpool and at St Andrews University - where Prince William is a student - in Scotland.
Last night the Department of Health confirmed the package discovered at the stock exchange did not contain anthrax and police said a suspect package found at the Local Government Association was not harmful. While the authorities refused to draw any connection with possible anthrax attacks, the government and Scotland Yard appealed for calm and again repeated there was no evidence of any specific threat, biological or otherwise, against London or Britain at this time.
In the Commons, the Health Secretary, Mr Alan Milburn, urged the public to "remain calm and go about their normal lives," stressing the incidents demonstrated Britain's contingency plans were "effective and can be deployed rapidly". Five postal workers at a postal sorting office in Liverpool were taken to hospital yesterday and staff were told they could not leave the building car park until medical tests were completed following the discovery of a suspect package containing powder.
The postal workers were escorted from the building and decontaminated in a specialist mobile shower unit before being taken to hospital. In London, several roads around the stock exchange were closed off and a fire brigade decontamination unit was deployed after postal workers became concerned about the contents of a package in the post-room.
At one stage officers from the anti-terrorist branch were at the scene and the package was removed from the building for forensic tests following initial confirmation that the package did not contain explosives.
As a precaution, City police said 13 people, including postal staff and two police officers, were taken to hospital for medical tests. They were treated for "potential exposure to biological material" and prescribed antibiotics, a hospital spokesman said.
However, a police spokesman insisted they were "not ill" and refused to link the security alert to possible anthrax contamination.
Police had earlier removed a suspicious package delivered to the Local Government Association in Smith Square, close to Conservative Central Office, after staff became concerned about its contents. Local Government minister, Mr Nick Raynsford, was holding a meeting in the building at the time and police evacuated part of the premises "as a precaution".
Scotland Yard stressed it had "no knowledge of anyone exhibiting any ill effects".
The scare also spread to Scotland where police said several packages "purporting to contain anthrax" were delivered to St Andrews University and to Fife Constabulary Headquarters in Glenrothes.
However, Asst Chief Constable, Mr David Mellor, said there was every likelihood the packages were hoaxes.
The Public Health Laboratory Service at Porton Down, meanwhile, confirmed precautionary anthrax testing on three people with links to the US had been completed and all tests were negative.
Two of the people were tested because of possible exposure to anthrax in Florida and the third was tested following possible exposure to the organism at the NYC Rockefeller Centre.