Two Hospitalised After Suspect Package Sent To Office Of Labour MP Mohammad Yasin

Police are investigating.
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A suspicious package was sent to Labour MP Mohammad Yasin on Monday
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Two people have been hospitalised after suspicious package was sent to the office of Labour MP Mohammad Yasin.

Emergency services were called to Norman Shaw North, a Parliamentary building, just before 1pm on Monday.

Police say a package containing an unknown liquid - which was later deemed non-hazardous - was sent to the office of the Bedford MP, but he did not personally open it.

No-one was injured in the incident, but staff were evacuated from the building and two people were taken to hospital as a precaution.

A spokesperson from Yasin’s office told HuffPost UK: “Everyone is fine, but it was clearly a worrying incident.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we can’t issue more details at the moment, but am very pleased that staff took sensible precautions and followed the correct procedures when the suspicious letter was spotted.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We sent two incident response officers, a team leader and an ambulance crew. We also dispatched our hazardous area response team (HART).”

According to some reports, police are concerned the incident may be linked to a number of letters sent to households across the country urging them to get involved in “Punish A Muslim Day”.  Yasin, who was elected in 2017 after winning his seat from the Conservatives, is Muslim.

Counter-terrorism officers are leading the investigation into what was branded “hate mail” by campaigners. 

A Commons spokesperson said: “Today a suspicious substance was investigated by the Met Police and was found not to be hazardous.

“The affected area was temporarily cordoned off but no evacuation was necessary. Two people attended hospital as a precaution.”

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told the Commons on Monday said the government “condemns” the content of the letters.

She said they had “no place in decent society” and the government took hate crime and islamophobia “extremely seriously”.

“Freedom of speech, freedom of worship, the rule of law and equal rights define us as a society,” she told MPs.