Can we panic now?

DON’T PANIC! The enemy has anthrax, plague, botulism, poison gas, dirty bombs and ferries packed with TNT that make the Provisional IRA seem about as dangerous as Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. But Mr Blair has announced that we should stay calm. Is he mad?

Last time, in 1997, I almost did panic. It was just after the weapons inspectors had unceremoniously left Iraq. The Daily Mail told us to expect hordes of Iraqi terrorists releasing anthrax from perfume bottles on the Underground. I was then, I suppose, terrified, as many are now. I had, I thought, good reason. Infections like anthrax and plague are directly within my field of professional interest. I knew what these bacteria could do. I was so worried, in fact, that I was about to evacuate my children to their grandmother for the duration – to the comparative safety of Belfast.

Then one morning I was cycling through Hyde Park, ruminating about who would really have inside knowledge on the real political, rather than medical, risks. Suddenly and surreally, as if by magic, Lord Hurd sprang into view just by the Albert Memorial. ‘He’ll know!’ I thought. I pulled up next to him, and importuned him with my nervous inquiry. He asked where I lived, thought for a moment, and said, ‘Stay where you are, dear boy.’

I took his advice and, of course, he was right. It seemed then that the old clichZ was true – what we had to fear most was fear itself. But 9/11 has changed everything, and has redefined terrorism in the same way that Hiroshima redefined war. We are up against a reckless and fanatical enemy who would stop at nothing. This time it’s personal. The Home Office has blurted that we should expect a dirty bomb or a poison-gas attack in the coming weeks, then embarrassingly tried to unblurt it.