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| Farmer 'blackmailed Tesco over contaminated baby food' | Farmer 'blackmailed Tesco over contaminated baby food' |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A sheep farmer said jars of baby food laced with metal were in Tesco stores in a blackmail plot, a court heard. | |
| Nigel Wright is accused of sending letters and emails, signed "Guy Brush", to the supermarket giant. | |
| Mr Wright posed as a disgruntled dairy farmer who had been underpaid by Tesco and demanded 100 bitcoin, worth about £700,000 at the time, a jury at the Old Bailey was told. | |
| He denies two counts of contaminating goods and four counts of blackmail. | He denies two counts of contaminating goods and four counts of blackmail. |
| Mr Wright, 45, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, tried to extort the cryptocurrency between May 2018 and February this year for revealing which stores he had planted the jars in, prosecutors said. | Mr Wright, 45, from Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, tried to extort the cryptocurrency between May 2018 and February this year for revealing which stores he had planted the jars in, prosecutors said. |
| This sum demanded rose to 200 bitcoin, worth about £1.4 million in February, the court heard. | This sum demanded rose to 200 bitcoin, worth about £1.4 million in February, the court heard. |
| He claimed to be part of a group of dairy farmers calling themselves "Guy Brush and the Dairy Pirates" who believed they had been underpaid by Tesco. | |
| Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC told the jury: "The defendant hoped to make himself rich by means of blackmail." | Prosecutor Julian Christopher QC told the jury: "The defendant hoped to make himself rich by means of blackmail." |
| Two customers had found slivers of metal in baby food jars as they fed their children in November and December 2019. | Two customers had found slivers of metal in baby food jars as they fed their children in November and December 2019. |
| One jar was bought in Rochdale, the other in Lockerbie. | One jar was bought in Rochdale, the other in Lockerbie. |
| There is no evidence any other products were actually contaminated, the court was told. | There is no evidence any other products were actually contaminated, the court was told. |
| Wright also claimed salmonella and chemicals had been injected into cans and threatened to continue poisoning Tesco products if payment was not made, Mr Christopher said. | Wright also claimed salmonella and chemicals had been injected into cans and threatened to continue poisoning Tesco products if payment was not made, Mr Christopher said. |
| 'Forced by travellers' | 'Forced by travellers' |
| A draft of messages sent to Tesco was found on his laptop along with photos of food tins, jars of baby food and slivers of metal, the court heard | A draft of messages sent to Tesco was found on his laptop along with photos of food tins, jars of baby food and slivers of metal, the court heard |
| In one of the counts of blackmail, Wright allegedly threatened to kill a driver with whom he had had a road rage altercation unless he paid him bitcoin worth £150,000. | In one of the counts of blackmail, Wright allegedly threatened to kill a driver with whom he had had a road rage altercation unless he paid him bitcoin worth £150,000. |
| Mr Wright admits various elements of the campaign but claims he was forced to do so by travellers who had demanded he give them £1m and he was acting in fear of his life. | Mr Wright admits various elements of the campaign but claims he was forced to do so by travellers who had demanded he give them £1m and he was acting in fear of his life. |
| Mr Christopher told the jury it would have to determine whether the story of being threatened by travellers was true. | Mr Christopher told the jury it would have to determine whether the story of being threatened by travellers was true. |
| The trial continues. | The trial continues. |
| Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here. | Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here. |