Cardinal says he's 'going on as normal' after threat

Cardinal Keith O'Brien opened the letter containing the bullet himself after it arrived at his official residence in Morningside.

Details of the incident emerged as police continue investigations into lethal packages sent to Celtic manager Neil Lennon, his lawyer Paul McBride QC and Celtic- supporting former Labour MSP Trish Godman.

The cardinal has also been warned he could be a target again.

Cardinal O'Brien, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, was sent the bullet shortly before the visit of Pope Benedict XVI last year. The church decided not to publicise the incident, fearing it would detract from the visit.

The cardinal, however, spoke out following the spate of letter bombs sent to leading Celtic figures.

The letter is understood to have been headed "No surrender" and warned the cardinal: "If you bring your Pope here . . . this is what he will get."

The senders reportedly claimed to be the Protestant Action Group, an old cover name for the Protestant paramilitary group the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Cardinal O'Brien said he had opened the letter himself. He said: "I open all my own mail."

The bullet and the hate message fell out of the envelope.

He said: "I immediately phoned the police and they took over.

"This was a horrific incitement to violence and deeply regrettable, but in the end it did not detract from the welcome the Pope received from the vast majority of Scots of all and no religious affiliations."

Cardinal O'Brien insisted he was not changing his day-to-day activities because of the threat.

He said: "I'm just going on as normal. It's not made any difference to my way of life. I'm just getting on with my work.

"I'm just sad that this sort of thing can and does happen in our country."

Police, including the Met's anti-terror squad, carried out an investigation but were not able to trace those responsible.

Police were today continuing their investigations into the Celtic bomb plot. The packages sent to Neil Lennon, Paul McBride and Trish Godman, thought to contain nails and liquid explosives, have been described by police as "viable devices capable of causing significant harm and injury to individuals".

Catholic Church spokesman Peter Kearney confirmed that he and Cardinal O'Brien had been warned to be "cautious when dealing with mail" by police.

Mr Kearney said the arrival of the bullet had been "an extremely shocking experience".

He said: "It happened the week before the Pope's visit. The bullet was sent and accompanied by a very threatening letter. The feeling at the time was we were happy to leave it in the hands of the police."

Last year, Mr Kearney was at the centre of controversy after claiming anti-Catholic bigotry was a major problem in Scotland.

Today he said: "The intimidation has reached a new level and obviously it is a very, very worrying one.

"What I said was with an incident like that in mind. I was criticised with some saying I had overplayed it."

He said he hoped people now understood the context to his comments.