The local Liberal Democrats had to call in the police yesterday after the local party received a suspect package at their Hornsey FREEPOST address. Lib Dem Leader Cllr Neil Williams was looking through the party’s mail yesterday morning, when he spotted the home-made envelope, which was offensively addressed and contained a loose and suspicious item.

Specialist staff from Scotland Yard came and dealt with the package, which turned out to be a hoax.

Cllr Williams, who has also been assisting the local CID investigation into the crime, comments:

“This is a rather nasty and stupid crime by someone who appears to have a grudge against the Lib Dems locally. I’m appalled that anyone would send such an item designed to cause fear and also to waste so much police time.

“For both these reasons, I am pleased to see that the police are taking it seriously, and I have been helping them in the hope that the culprit will be caught.

“I can also say that the police response was incredibly swift and thorough. The unfortunate fact, for them, is that all such incidents have to be investigated, and such deliberate hoaxes are an utter waste of their valuable resources.”