The government has announced a crackdown on the chemicals used to make dangerous weapons, following recommendations made in the Southport Inquiry.

The new controls, access to natural materials needed to produce the toxic substances ricin and abrin will be heavily restricted to reduce the risk of people using them to cause harm.

In the Southport investigation, officers found that the attacker had bought castor beans online to make ricin.

The government is now proposing to add castor beans containing ricin and rosary peas containing abrin to the list of regulated poisons under UK law. This will make it a criminal offence to sell them to members of the public who do not hold a valid licence.

This is part of the  government’s commitment to implement all the recommendations made in phase one of the Southport Inquiry.

Ricin and abrin are already strictly controlled, but the seeds that can be used to produce them are available for use in gardening and decoration.

The proposed changes come under the Poisons Act 1972, which controls poisons and explosives precursors. People can apply for a licence to buy and use a regulated substance if they have a genuine need for it and there is no safer alternative.

Security Minister, Dan Jarvis said: "Protecting the public is our first duty. While these substances can have legitimate uses, we must stop them from being weaponised by those who want to cause harm.

"We will close the gaps exposed by the Southport attack and tighten the law to stop these dangerous chemicals falling into the wrong hands."