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Jail for Tesco blackmail plotter Jail for Tesco blackmail plotter
(10 minutes later)
A former tax inspector has been jailed for six years for a £1m blackmail plot against Tesco.A former tax inspector has been jailed for six years for a £1m blackmail plot against Tesco.
Philip McHugh, 52, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, demanded £500,000 from the supermarket giant twice last year.Philip McHugh, 52, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, demanded £500,000 from the supermarket giant twice last year.
His threats resulted in 14 stores across the UK closing last July as a security precaution. He sent 76 letters threatening to bomb stores and to contaminate Tesco products if the company refused to comply with his demand for money.
His threats resulted in 14 Tesco stores across the UK closing last July as a security precaution.
The judge at St Albans Crown Court said McHugh was guilty of a sustained and serious effort to extort money from the chain.
He pleaded guilty last year to three sample charges of blackmail and two of communicating a bomb hoax targeting the retailer.He pleaded guilty last year to three sample charges of blackmail and two of communicating a bomb hoax targeting the retailer.
As part of his bomb threat campaign, Tesco stores were evacuated and temporarily closed in Dyfed-Powys, Fife, Strathclyde, Lancashire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Humberside, Herefordshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and London. As part of his bomb-threat campaign, Tesco stores were evacuated and temporarily closed in Glamorgan, Fife, Strathclyde, Lancashire, Suffolk, Leicestershire, Humberside, Herefordshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and London.