'Anthrax alert' joker walks free

An angry motorist who sparked a major anthrax alert has walked free from court after a jury decided he had done nothing wrong.

Francis Lee, 26, of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, said cornflour sent with a parking fine had been a practical joke.

He sent the flour to Tower Hamlets Council in east London in May 2003.

Mr Lee had been charged with one count under the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 and was cleared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Mr Lee had earlier told the court that he thought the cornflour he popped into an envelope with his £50 parking fine would be seen as nothing more than a "practical joke".

Building cleared

It was meant to highlight his unhappiness about his latest penalty.

Instead, a special chemical and biological response team was despatched within minutes of the package being opened at Tower Hamlets town hall in London.

An initial test indicated the white substance was the real thing, and as the area was sealed off, hundreds of council staff - aware of earlier anthrax deaths in the US - were cleared from the building.

A more detailed analysis at the government's Porton Down facility later gave the all clear, London's Southwark Crown Court was told.

Unanimous not guilty

Mr Lee was eventually arrested and charged with one count under the Anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001.

It stated he mailed the powder in May last year "intending" it should be mistaken as a dangerous "noxious substance".

But the computer programmer told interviewing officers and then the court that he had never meant to cause such chaos.

The jury took two hours to decide he was telling the truth and returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.

As it was announced, Mr Lee slightly bowed his head and then smiled in obvious relief.