Scares raise fears of UK anthrax attack

Two scares raised fears of an anthrax attack in Britain today.

In London, 12 workers from the Stock Exchange post room were taken for tests after suspicions were raised over a package. Police stressed they were being investigated as a precaution and that the building had not been evacuated.

In Liverpool, five postal workers were taken for checks after "a substance" was discovered leaking from a package at the city's main Copperas Hill sorting office. Police cordoned off nearby roads, causing major traffic disruption.

The Health Secretary, Alan Milburn, said that Britain had some of the best expertise in the world to deal with such a threat and re-iterated that there was no cause for panic.

So far there have been no confirmed cases of anthrax being sent through the post outside the US, although there have been scares in Germany, Australia, Italy and across the world.