A SUSPICIOUS package containing white power which was sent to Lord Nazir Ahmed prompted a lock down of parts of the Houses of Parliament today (July 7).
Lord Ahmed’s office in the House of Lords, the car park and the terrace were closed for an hour and a half after he found the powder in a letter containing
racist abuse.
“They were treating it as a chemical or biological incident,” the peer said, adding: “Thank God it was not dangerous.
“I have received racist, abusive, insulting and Islamaphobic letters before, but never with white powder.
“This was frightening, as our colleague Jo Cox was murdered a few weeks ago.”
The letter had been screened before it reached his office, but lawmakers are on heightened alert after Labour MP Jo Cox was gunned down on the street in her Yorkshire constituency last month.
A local man, 52-year-old Thomas Mair, has been charged with her murder in the village of Birstall, one week before the EU referendum.
Lord Ahmed thanked the police and parliamentary authorities for their swift action.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that officers were alerted to reports of a suspect package at 12:30 pm (1130 GMT). The security alert ended around 2 pm.
“It was a suspicious package that had been delivered the Houses of Parliament.
There are no reports of any injuries or illnesses,” a spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for the House of Lords added: “Peers’ car park and parts of the terrace were closed temporarily but have now been reopened.
“The closure was put in place while a package containing a white powder was investigated by specialist police units, which is standard procedure.
“The powder was found to be non-harmful.”
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)