White powder in envelope triggers Commons terror scare

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Communities minister Shahid Malik was target of suspect package caught by security and found to be harmless


An envelope containing suspicious white powder was sent to the communities minister Shahid Malik at the House of Commons, triggering an anti-terrorist investigation, the Guardian has learned.

The letter, sent from within the UK, led to a major alert on Monday as it was intercepted by security screening staff who feared it held potentially deadly anthrax.

Comments on the envelope suggest it was sent by a supporter of the far right or someone purporting to be one.

Emergency procedures were activated and the powder was tested and found to be harmless. It is understood that the Speaker, John Bercow, and his most senior officials were kept fully informed.

Detectives are examining the envelope, the written comments and the postmark to try to trace the sender. They want to establish whether this is an isolated incident or the beginning of a campaign by criminal elements on the far right.

Malik, Britain's first Muslim minister, was unavailable for comment but a spokesman said: "Mr Malik is grateful to the police and very grateful to the parliamentary authorities for their alertness and dedication in ensuring the safety of all correspondence to parliamentarians. He has been in his Dewsbury constituency all week and will continue serving constituents and carrying out his ministerial duties."

Many high-profile minority politicians endure racist hate mail but Malik has long been a particular target for violent and abusive supporters of the far right.

He secured a majority of 4,615 at the last election but the constituency also returned the highest vote for the British National party.

Last June the MP was forced to act against YouTube after far-right supporters posted a 39-second clip warning Malik not to "mess with the big boys", cutting from a still of the BNP leader, Nick Griffin, to a shot of the minister covered in blood. The video was removed from the site after complaints from the MP and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission.

It is understood that staff at his offices at Westminster and in Dewsbury regularly intercept abusive and racist communications. At least one death threat has been referred to West Yorkshire police. A number of cases have led to police cautions and convictions.

His outspoken comments on the threat posed by Muslim extremists have also resulted in the minister being sent abusive mail from that quarter. He has caused anger by describing Muslim and BNP extremists as two sides of the same coin. But while abusive, none of that correspondence has suggested violence.

Malik was among MPs accused by the Daily Telegraph this summer of breaching the ministerial code relating to rent on his office and home being discounted – allegations he denied. He stepped down as justice minister during an investigation by Sir Philip Mawer, the prime minister's independent adviser on ministerial interests. Malik returned to government when cleared by that inquiry. But while the summer's events made his life more difficult, it is clear that the racist hate mail began well before publication of the Telegraph's expenses allegations.

MPs and staff are protected at the Commons by security machines and a tight screening regime for mail and visitors. Procedures were reviewed after an embarrassing security lapse that allowed protesters to throw purple powder over Tony Blair as he spoke in the Commons in 2004.

Security levels were raised again two years later when a man hurled white powder in the central lobby, the area used as a main meeting point for MPs and their guests. He claimed it was anthrax but tests found it to be harmless.

The Guardian