Ricin package sent to Bush

A package laced with the deadly poison ricin has been sent to President Bush.

Details of the bio-terrorist incident were revealed by the FBI, which said a letter containing a vial of the poison was intercepted at a sorting office before it reached the White House.

At least three separate attacks using ricin are now known to have been sent to high-profile targets in the US in the past five months.

The White House package was found last November, but its existence had been kept secret until the discovery on Monday of ricin in the Washington offices of a senior Republican leader in Congress.

Tests on a white powder found on a mechanical letter opener in the office of Bill Frist were yesterday confirmed to be ricin, which is obtained from the bean of the castor plant.

A suspicious powder is still being tested after being found on Monday in Connecticut, addressed to the office of the Republican National Committee.