Ricin: the plot that never was

A deadly poison said to be at the heart of a terrorist conspiracy against Britain led to a dire warning of another al-Qa’ida attack in the West. The Government was swift to act on the fear that such a find generated. But far from being a major threat, the real danger existed only in the mind of a misguided individual living in a dingy north London bedsit.

Independent on Sunday, 17 April 2005