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British Health Secretary Warns Against Anthrax Panic
British Health Secretary Alan Milburn warned the public on Tuesday not to go panic about anthrax after a series of scares across the country.
Incidents in the United States, possibly linked to the September 11 attacks, have killed one man and infected three other people.
The British Home Office said there was no intelligence to suggest there was a "specific threat" to Britain from biological or chemical attack.
But a series of incidents on Tuesday - two in London and one in Liverpool - have increased public fears and the police have asked people to be vigilant.
Twelve people were taken to hospital following the discovery of a suspect package at the London Stock Exchange.
London Police said the 12 staff were from the post room and have been tested "to allay their fears."
The package has been removed by officers from the Bomb Squad and is now being examined. The Stock Exchange remained open throughout the incident.
Another seven people were taken to hospital in Liverpool after a suspect package was spotted in a sorting office in the city. The depot was evacuated after white powder fell out of a package. The area was sealed off and five members of staff were sent to Fazakerley hospital for tests.
The substance is still being tested but there is no indication it is anthrax.
In the third incident, police in London are carrying out tests on a suspicious package that was delivered to the Local Government Association's offices.
Two floors of the building in Smith Square, central London, have been evacuated but staff are continuing to work in the rest of the building.
Milburn, the health secretary, told the House of Commons that a number of incidents were being investigated but he said: "It is important that people remain calm and go about their normal lives. "
He said he realized it was an "anxious time" but said the incidents proved the emergency services' contingency planning was effective.
Milburn said: "It is important that fear does not win: fear is the terrorists' victory. There is no need for public panic. Our response - all of our responses - in this House, amongst the public and in the media too is and must be proportionate."
But he said: "It would be foolish to be anything other than vigilant."
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman urged people to be vigilant and said: "If people are suspicious of anything they have received in the mail or by hand they should contact police."
Postal workers are in the frontline and Dave Joyce, chairman of the health safety committee of the Communication Workers' Union, said that officials were trying to avoid panic within the Royal Mail.
The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) has already updated its advice on how to deal with a deliberate attempt to spread anthrax.
Guidance includes the importance of sealing off what the PHLS calls "the exposed zone" if anthrax spores are found and decontaminating everyone present. Any infected people would need to take antibiotics for up to eight weeks.
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