UK News 18-10-2001 Seven Year Sentence For Anthrax Hoaxers who: Home Secretary David Blunkett what: Says anthrax hoaxers should face same penalty as bomb hoaxers where: LONDON when: Yesterday snippet: "Anthrax hoaxers will be jailed for seven years under a crackdown announced last night by Home Secretary David Blunkett," reports The Daily Record. "The move came as fresh panic hit Britain and more cases were confirmed in America." The maximum sentence may be raised from six months to seven years by the Emergency Anti-Terrorism Bill, making the penalty for an anthrax hoax the same as a bomb hoax, says The Evening Standard. "The actions of hoaxers are causing distress and perpetuating fear in communities around the country," said Mr Blunkett yesterday. "These are malicious and criminal acts and anyone sending hoax packages or misleading the police will be prosecuted and may face imprisonment." Yesterday, the UK`s chief medical officer Professor Liam Donaldson said he didn`t think there was "any real threat" to the British population, reports the BBC. But he said images of fire crews in space suits "give the terrorists what they want - creating fear". "Anthrax is not a particularly good biological weapon," he continued, "but a hugely successful psychological weapon." [... more]

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