Man cleared of poisoning school soup

Maxwell Cook found not guilty after two and a half day trial A kitchen porter at a top public school has been acquitted of attempting to poison the pupils’ soup. Maxwell Cook was accused of pouring a bleach-like cleaning product into the carrot and coriander soup at Stowe School, Buckinghamshire. But after 2½ hours deliberation, the jury of 11 women and one man found him not guilty of attempting to administer poison with intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy. Cook, 58, slumped back in his seat with a look of relief as the verdict was read out. A cry of “yes” was heard from the public gallery. During the 2½-day trial at Aylesbury crown court in Buckinghamshire, trainee chef Louise Samples, 21, told the jury she had seen Cook in the kitchen lacing the soup with a sanitising destainer on 11 March last year. The soup was destined for about 100 pupils and staff at the £27,000-a-year school. But the cleaning product was detected during a routine tasting and no one was injured. Robert Spencer-Bernard, prosecuting, said the soup would have had “detrimental effects”. The toxic liquid was used to unblock drains and could cause irritation, vomiting and swelling of the throat. A spokeswoman for the school said: “We are completely satisfied with all kitchen procedures and there was never a risk of the contaminated soup reaching the dining hall. Pupils’ safety at Stowe remains paramount.” Cook, from Brackley, Northamptonshire, was dismissed after the incident. Stowe alumni include business tycoon Sir Richard Branson, Prince Harry’s on-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy and jazz musician George Melly. Crime Private schools Schools guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.