France said yesterday that traces of the deadly toxin ricin found in a Paris railway station could point to a thwarted terror attack by Islamic radicals but said it had no hard proof and urged calm.
British police sources said they were unaware of a link between the find and arrests made in Britain in January after the discovery of ricin in a north London apartment.
But terror experts said the new discovery suggested there was cross-border co-operation between militant Islamic cells.
Two flasks containing traces of ricin were discovered along with other chemicals in a luggage locker at Paris's Gare de Lyon station on Monday, heightening fears of a possible attack in France linked to the Iraq crisis.
Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said a link could emerge between the discovery and arrests made near Paris late last year of Islamic militants who French officials believe were planning at least one attack on Paris.
"One can make a link, but we have no proof as it stands," Sarkozy told French radio station Europe 1. "We also found some acetone and ethanol. A mixture of the three can make an extremely nasty poison." However he said the amount of ricin involved in the actual find was a "non-lethal quantity" and stressed he had no specific information suggesting an attack had been under preparation.
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin appealed for calm.
"We have no information pointing to a specific threat," he told reporters. "There is no reason to be anxious, simply vigilant."
Ricin, one of the deadliest naturally occurring poisons, is a toxin derived from castor plant beans. Less than a milligram would kill a 70 kg (154 lb) man.
Iraq is suspected of working on ricin at some of its research laboratories and is known to have produced it for military use. - Reuters