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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Man admits to Tesco bomb hoaxes | Man admits to Tesco bomb hoaxes |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A 52-year-old man has pleaded guilty to threatening to carry out bomb attacks against supermarket giant Tesco. | A 52-year-old man has pleaded guilty to threatening to carry out bomb attacks against supermarket giant Tesco. |
| Philip McHugh, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, admitted conducting a campaign of blackmail and bomb hoaxes against the Hertfordshire-based firm. | Philip McHugh, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, admitted conducting a campaign of blackmail and bomb hoaxes against the Hertfordshire-based firm. |
| The blackmail offences relate to 7 July and 13 July when, on each occasion, demands were made for £50,000. | The blackmail offences relate to 7 July and 13 July when, on each occasion, demands were made for £50,000. |
| Threats made in letters to the supermarket chain led to 14 stores being closed as a security precaution. | Threats made in letters to the supermarket chain led to 14 stores being closed as a security precaution. |
| They included stores in Port Talbot, Kirkcaldy in Fife and outlets in Lancashire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Humberside, Herefordshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and London. | |
| McHugh, who, the court heard, has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty at St Albans Crown Court to three specimen charges of blackmail. | McHugh, who, the court heard, has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty at St Albans Crown Court to three specimen charges of blackmail. |
| He also admitted two charges of communicating a bomb hoax which closed stores in Pontefract and Grimsby. | He also admitted two charges of communicating a bomb hoax which closed stores in Pontefract and Grimsby. |
| Psychiatric reports | Psychiatric reports |
| The court heard that McHugh, an unemployed charity volunteer, was under the care of a psychiatric nurse at the time of the offences and had been referred to a consultant psychiatrist days before his arrest on 23 July. | The court heard that McHugh, an unemployed charity volunteer, was under the care of a psychiatric nurse at the time of the offences and had been referred to a consultant psychiatrist days before his arrest on 23 July. |
| He was remanded back into custody at Bedford prison. | He was remanded back into custody at Bedford prison. |
| Psychiatric reports will be carried out before his sentencing in January. | Psychiatric reports will be carried out before his sentencing in January. |
| Tesco retail and logistics director David Potts praised his staff for their "utmost professionalism". | Tesco retail and logistics director David Potts praised his staff for their "utmost professionalism". |
| "I hope this case goes some way to reassure everybody that any threat of force is taken extremely seriously and that we have robust procedures in place to ensure public and staff safety, which remains our top priority," he added. | "I hope this case goes some way to reassure everybody that any threat of force is taken extremely seriously and that we have robust procedures in place to ensure public and staff safety, which remains our top priority," he added. |