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Issue 130 路Wednesday, October 31, 2001
YOUR AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER
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News Editor
been exposed as having a major role in the world-wide anthrax scares. Or Rahib Rashida Taha aiAwazi , who studied at the University in the early eighties, is now a key figure in the development of bio-weapons including anthrax. Dr Taha is now working under Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein. And Concrete can reveal that MI5 even visited the UEA campus to visit a lecturer who knew Dr Taha, in an attempt to involve him in encouraging his former student to divulge top secret information to the British and American Secret Services.
Plot MI5 agents flew the member of UEA staff, who wishes to remain anonymous, to America to meet up with Dr Taha as part of a plot to encourage her to defect. Norwich North MP Dr lan Gibson , a senior lecturer in BIO at the time Dr Taha was studying in the school, remembers when the secret service staff visited the campus. "The idea was that Dr Taha wanted to defect as I believe she was fed up with what she was doing," said Dr Gibson . "I don't think a direct meeting took place when the lecturer flew to America, but he definitely stayed in the same hotel as Dr Taha." But despite knowing she was involved with Iraqi warfare , the
Labour MP was still shocked to hear that the former PHD student is connected to the anthrax threats. "I am amazed, I never thought she would be hell bent on being in charge of an Iraqi programme like this. She told me she was going back to be a teacher." "She was a very quite girl and had no obvious political interests at all. Perhaps, looking back, I should have tried to recruit her into the Labour party," said Dr Gibson.
Recluse And Dr Taha's advisor, Professor John Turner, who taught her in BIO between 1979 and 1984, has spoken for the first time for over four years about the powerful Iraqi labelling her a recluse and unpopular. "She was a nice girl, but was only liked by a small number of people. She was reclusive." "Her two best friends were Iranian and I remember vividly the two girls watching the television when the war between Iraq and Iran was going on. I think they both had relatives there, but were two opposite sides, it was really poignant." And he is shocked at the news which could make Dr Taha, who has been dubbed Dr Germ by UN officials, one of the most dangerous women in the world. "She wasn 't an outstanding student, I never thought she would go on to do something major, you could have knocked me down with a Continued on page 3
INSIDE: MELVYN BRAGG INTERVIEWED PAGES 10-11