The anthrax alert said the threat was against “the enemies of Iraq”.Meanwhile, an official with UNSCOM, the UN body charged with rooting out Iraq’s clandestine weapons programmes, confirmed yesterday that it was informed of the arrest of Nassir al-Hindawi by the Iraqi government earlier this month.According to Baghdad, Mr Hindawi was found to be preparing his own flight from Iraq and had important documents about the biological weapons programme, which he intended handing over to western investigators.Mr Hindawi is considered to have been one of the key pioneers of Iraq’s biological campaign. Iraq is known to have reserves of Agent VX, a highly toxic nerve agent used against the Kurds, mustard gas, which cause terrible skin damage, and sarin, the nerve agent used in Nazi gas chambers, aflatoxin, which destroys the immune system, and botulinum toxin.A security source said the anthrax alert was “one of a number of warnings about the possible threat from Iraqi biological and chemical weapons” that had been issued to the authorities guarding ports and airports, including the Channel Tunnel and Eurostar.The source stressed that there was no intelligence to suggest that Britain was to be specifically targeted. Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, also disclosed that a warning that Saddam Hussein could be planning to flood the West with anthrax hidden in bottles disguised as duty-free goods was received 13 days before the Government alerted the ports.
In a further development, an Iraqi scientist who may have tipped off Western intelligence agencies about the anthrax threat and who was planning to defect is reported to have been arrested and thrown into prison.MI5 alerted Customs and Excise officers and Special Branch police at British ports on a number of occasions this year following intelligence suggesting Iraq may be planning biological or chemical attacks.While the most recent report told ports to be on the look out for anthrax, information about other named substances has been released. BRITISH intelligence has issued a series of warnings to ports and airports in the past few months about the dangers of Iraqi agents smuggling in a variety of biological and chemical weapons, it emerged yesterday.

There was also some concern at the quality of the hotels and rates that the hotels charge,” the spokesman said.Predictably, Dennis Skinner, the left-wing Labour MP for Bolsover, voted against the move.. It also costs more to go to Blackpool for transport and staffing. The conference was first held there in 1927, and the party has returned every second year since1976.”One factor was the quality of the hall itself We felt there was a lack of space at Blackpool. But now Labour’s National Executive Committee has decided that after one last, long-booked trip to the North this autumn, the gathering will be held in Bournemouth next year, followed by two years running in Brighton.A party spokesman said the decision was taken with “great reluctance” and he hoped delegates would return to Blackpool once its problems had been solved.

The party says the town is too expensive to get to, its wildly rococo Winter Gardens conference centre too cramped and its hotels too seedy.
Fans of the resort will argue that its famously fierce landladies and over-the-top entertainment are part of the package. In a move which will enshrine Labour as the party of Chablis and seafood rather than beer and battered cod, it will meet on the south coast, hundreds of miles from its former heartland, ending a cherished tradition of infighting and politicking along the prom, accompanied by all the tacky joys Blackpool has to offer. Labour’s old left has put up with a lot recently, but surely the brothers will never stand for this. The men from Millbank have ended 70 years of tradition by dumping Blackpool from the annual conference circuit. The enormous variety of people of different cultures, religions and races who make up our society make Britain a wonderfully exciting, vibrant and cosmopolitan place to live.”Dafydd Wigley, the Plaid Cymru leader, said: “We abhor racism in all its various guises and will work with others from all democratic political parties, in Wales and throughout the UK, to defeat it at all times.”Lawrence blunders, page 10Liverpool apartheid, page 10.

As a nation we have come a long way in recent years in tackling intolerance and bigotry, but there is still much to do and we must not allow ourselves to become complacent Britain draws strength from diversity. Good race relations depend on tough but fair immigration policy and firm action to eradicate the scourge of racism.”Paddy Ashdown said: “Racism is an evil which undermines the very fabric of society. The United Kingdom has set an example to the rest of the world in improving race relations, but we should never be complacent.”More needs to be done to bring down the barriers of ignorance and distrust which still exist in parts of our society. Their unity is a direct response to deep-seated concerns over racismand underlines a growing determination to tackle it head-on. Government worries over racism surfaced twice last week: once in Prime Minister’s Question Time; and again when Mr Blair went to Southwark, south London, for a community meeting.
On both occasions, Mr Blair said the fundamental principle of racial equality was shared by every single mainstream party, which explained “why we can be optimistic about the future of race relations.”But The Independent believes that racism is endemic, and that it cannot be answered by silence – it needs to be confronted and taken on, which is why The Independent has asked party leaders to speak out.The first day of the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence was told by Michael Mansfield QC, counsel for the Lawrence family, that racism and a desire to protect local white youths meant the police investigation was flawed from the moment Stephen was stabbed at a south London bus stop in 1993.On the ground evidence of racism is strong, even in cities believed to be well-integrated, like Liverpool.In a speech to Asian business leaders in London tonight, the Prime Minister will say that much has been done to stamp out racism, but more is needed.Delivering a powerful statement of faith in Southwark last week, he said: “The single most important thing we can do is to make an absolutely clear statement of behalf of the Government, on behalf of all political parties, on behalf of society, thatwe believe in, and actually welcome a multi- racial and multi-cultural society: that it’s a good thing; that it’s not something to be frightened of; that it’s a healthy, life-giving thing; that it’s actually the type of society we want to bring our children up in.”William Hague said last night: “I warmly welcome The Independent’s campaign to promote good race relations.