Bean there.

Six Algerian men and one Ethiopian were arrested in a north London flat this week in which a smidgen of ricin, a lethal poison was discovered. Ricin is derived from castor beans using a simple chemical process involving easily obtainable materials, chiefly lye, acetone, a coffee grinder and some old newspapers. The latest raid in London is probably a result of another success: the discovery last month of false papers, protection suits, and chemicals suitable for bombmaking in a flat in Paris, where four North Africans were arrested. Documents found after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan show that al-Qaeda had investigated ricin, among other poisons. The government is planning new laws to update the country's disaster planning, which is currently a cluttered mixture of cold-war relics and ad hoc measures introduced since September 11th 2001.