Post by dangeresque on Jul 13, 2007 21:59:27 GMT
Second jury fails to agree on BNP 'bomb' pair
Matthew Taylor
Friday July 13, 2007
Guardian
A second jury has failed to return a verdict in the trial of two British
National party supporters accused of stockpiling chemical weapons and bomb
making equipment to use in what they believed was an imminent civil war.
Former BNP local election candidate Robert Cottage, 49, and dentist David
Jackson, 62, were accused of buying chemicals over the internet which
could have created a powerful bomb. The prosecution said that Cottage also
had a digital copy of the Anarchist Cookbook, a bomb-making manual, as
well as crossbows and air rifles at his home in Colne, Lancashire.
Cottage and Mr Jackson, of Nelson, Lancashire, denied conspiring to cause
explosions intended to endanger life. Yesterday the jurors at Manchester
crown court said they were unable to reach a verdict on the charge after
deliberating for more than a day and a half. Prosecutors indicated that
they would not seek a further retrial.
Cottage admitted a separate charge of possessing explosives that could
"reasonably" be suspected to be for an unlawful purpose before the trial
started. He will be sentenced on July 31. Mr Jackson denied the possession
charge. Cottage told the jury he planned to use the chemicals to clean his
false teeth, unblock his drains, and protect himself against bird flu. Mr
Jackson, who was not a BNP member, claimed he asked Cottage to buy him
chemicals online because he wanted to pursue chemistry as a hobby and was
too computer-illiterate to order them himself.
www.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0,,2125449,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11
Matthew Taylor
Friday July 13, 2007
Guardian
A second jury has failed to return a verdict in the trial of two British
National party supporters accused of stockpiling chemical weapons and bomb
making equipment to use in what they believed was an imminent civil war.
Former BNP local election candidate Robert Cottage, 49, and dentist David
Jackson, 62, were accused of buying chemicals over the internet which
could have created a powerful bomb. The prosecution said that Cottage also
had a digital copy of the Anarchist Cookbook, a bomb-making manual, as
well as crossbows and air rifles at his home in Colne, Lancashire.
Cottage and Mr Jackson, of Nelson, Lancashire, denied conspiring to cause
explosions intended to endanger life. Yesterday the jurors at Manchester
crown court said they were unable to reach a verdict on the charge after
deliberating for more than a day and a half. Prosecutors indicated that
they would not seek a further retrial.
Cottage admitted a separate charge of possessing explosives that could
"reasonably" be suspected to be for an unlawful purpose before the trial
started. He will be sentenced on July 31. Mr Jackson denied the possession
charge. Cottage told the jury he planned to use the chemicals to clean his
false teeth, unblock his drains, and protect himself against bird flu. Mr
Jackson, who was not a BNP member, claimed he asked Cottage to buy him
chemicals online because he wanted to pursue chemistry as a hobby and was
too computer-illiterate to order them himself.
www.guardian.co.uk/farright/story/0,,2125449,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=11
