British police said on Friday that packages containing caustic soda had been sent to politicians including Prime Minister Tony Blair and that Scottish separatists had claimed responsibility.
Security screening at Downing Street discovered the corrosive chemical -- most commonly used for cleaning drains -- after detectives received a telephone warning from a little-known group of Scottish militants, dubbed the "tartan terrorists."
"Officers from the Metropolitan Police were alerted at approximately 2pm [yesterday] following a telephone warning from an anonymous male purporting to be from the Scottish National Liberation Army [SNLA]," a Scotland Yard spokeswoman said.
The man said a total of 16 parcels had been posted, police said, confirming that one had been intended for an unnamed Scottish member of parliament.
Postmarks on one of the packages suggested it had been posted in the western Scottish city of Glasgow, and police urged all politicians to be on the lookout for the remaining 14 parcels believed to still be in the postal system.
The contents of the parcels had been disguised as samples of eucalyptus aromatherapy products.
"We are urging people who may receive a package through the post in suspicious circumstances containing a liquid substance to contact 999 [emergency services] immediately," a spokeswoman said.
"Downing Street declined to comment, saying it was a matter of security, but a source said the parcel had posed no threat.
"The package was dealt with by the security procedures and there was no risk to any members of staff," the source said.
It is not the first time the SNLA, which seeks the creation of an independent Scottish republic and the restoration of the ancient Celtic language Gaelic as Scotland's national tongue, has hit the headlines.
A package purporting to contain the deadly bacterium anthrax was sent to St Andrews university in Scotland last August, shortly before Prince William, eldest son of heir to the throne Prince Charles started a degree course.
Shortly before the parcel -- which turned out to be harmless -- arrived at the university, the SNLA had reportedly said it would target the student prince during his four-year stay in Scotland.
In 1995, the group sent six letter bombs, including one to Blair's constituency home in northern England.
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for
Israel yesterday said it has begun preparations for the departure of large numbers of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in line with US President Donald Trump’s plan for the territory, while Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes to try and head off the plan. The Trump administration has already dialed back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. US officials have provided few details about how or when the plan would be carried out. Trump yesterday said that Israel would turn Gaza over to the US after the