Threat to poison English water supply in 1990s taken seriously by government, papers reveal

The threat could have potentially poisoned hundreds of thousands of people. Credit: PA

A threat to poison English water supplies with weed killer in the late 1990s was taken seriously at the time by the government, according to unsealed documents.

A group calling itself the "Republican Revenge Group" sent the British Embassy a letter in 1999, threatening to introduce weed killer into England's water supply if the government did not withdraw from "occupied Ireland".

The group claimed the improvised chemical weapon would be attached to fire hydrants, forcing it into the water supply and potentially poisoning hundreds of thousands of people.

According to unsealed papers, British authorities took the threat seriously because the technical processes had been checked and were feasible.

The threatening letter was also "cohesive and literate" had been sent to the correct people and water authorities in the UK, the documents said.

However, the British Embassy in Dublin suspected the letter could have been a trick by loyalists designed to smear republicans.

The potential giveaway was references to “HMG” (Her Majesty’s Government) throughout the threat, a phrase unlikely to be used in earnest by a republican.

The authorities decided they had to take the threat seriously in the circumstances, even though it was thought the risk to life was low.

Most people who drank contaminated water would suffer nothing worse than a stomach upset, though it could threaten the lives of babies, and of people on dialysis.

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The media in London, including Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE and the Irish newspapers, were called into a government briefing and asked not to report the story, for fear of causing panic over what might well be a hoax.

The government promised that if a real threat was established, the public would be informed, and said that the media would be told whether or not anything happened when the deadline ran out.

Meanwhile in Dublin, gardai were co-operating with British police and quickly identified a suspect.

They arrested an ex-soldier from Scotland living in Dublin, who was never charged.

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