Vodka bottle poison plot 'deadly'

The parcel for Councillor John Wright was intercepted

The poison in vodka bottles sent in a campaign for Scottish independence was strong enough to kill the intended recipients, a court has heard.

Wayne Cook, 45, of Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, denies two counts of using noxious substances to cause harm.

He is accused of sending small vodka bottles of caustic soda to a Lancashire councillor and a Scottish journalist.

Manchester Crown Court heard the poison would have also posed a serious risk to postal workers in transit.

Mr Cook's charges relate to a campaign by the Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA) to force the British Government out of Scotland.

Another man, Steven Robinson, has pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Facial disfigurement

The two parcels containing the vodka bottles were sent to Blackburn with Darwen councillor John Wright and Scottish Daily Express journalist Myra Philp in April 2007.

Royal Mail staff intercepted the parcel to Mr Wright but the second made it to Ms Philp. The court heard that the concentrations of caustic soda in the bottles were 20.2% and 31.5%.

The worst-case scenario of these concentrations, said toxicology expert Dr John Jackson, was death.

He said ingesting the liquids would have caused damage to the gullet, oesophagus and surrounding tissues.

Contact with the skin could have resulted in nerve damage or caused joints to seize, Dr Jackson said.

'Father figure'

Even taking a sip and then spitting it out could have led to serious facial disfigurement by causing the muscles in the cheek and tongue to shrink.

The court heard a history of the SNLA's activities since its formation in 1980.

They included caustic soda packages sent to Cherie Blair and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell.

Stephen Broad, a former colleague of Mr Robinson's, told the court that Mr Robinson was a Scot who bragged of his involvement with the SNLA.

He said Mr Robinson was a kind of "father figure" for Mr Cook.

The case continues.