Surprise past of Lincolnshire farmer who blackmailed Tesco revealed He is facing jail Nigel Wright was convicted of blackmail and contaminating ranges of baby food (Image: Hertfordshire Constabulary)
Sign up to the Lincolnshire Live newsletter for daily updates and breaking news Sign up here! When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters.Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer.Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights.You can unsubscribe at any time.Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email
A Lincolnshire farmer at the heart of the UK’s biggest blackmail investigation was once a councillor, it has emerged.
Nigel Wright is facing the prospect of 14 years in prison after being convicted of blackmailing Tesco over baby food contaminated with shards of metal.
A court heard that the sheep farmer who has been living at Pine Meadows, Caistor Road in Market Rasen, demanded £1.4 million in Bitcoin from the retailer in return for information about where he had hidden the jars.
Wright, who claimed he was threatened by travellers, denied the charges, but was convicted by jury of two counts of contaminating goods and three counts of blackmail.
But it has now been revealed that he hasn’t always been a conniving character, reports Grimsby Live.
Read More Related Articles Read More Related Articles ‘You pay, you save them’ – the full story of Tesco blackmailer convicted of putting babies’ lives at risk with razor sharp metal in baby food
The married father-of-two formerly campaigned to make Grimsby a better place and even represented Freshney ward in Grimsby after winning the seat in 2003, campaigning to reduce crime and the fear of it.
Previously he served as the chairman of the Great Grimsby Conservative Association, when he was the youngest ever to be appointed to the position at the age of 29.
Wright switched to Ukip and stood for the Brigg and Goole Constituency in 2010
But at The Old Bailey on Thursday, the former Healing farmer was convicted of contaminating jars of baby food with shards of metal in an elaborate blackmail of superstore giant, Tesco.
The court heard two mothers found the metal fragments when they were feeding their children after Wright began his two-year campaign in the spring of 2018.
He threatened to inject tins of fruit with cyanide and salmonella unless the supermarket giant handed over the cash in Bitcoin.
Nigel Wright, 45, in a Tesco store in Lockerbie where he is accused of planting a jar of Heinz baby food laced with fragments of a craft knife as part of a plot to blackmail the supermarket chain for £1.4 million in bitcoin.(Image: PA)
Wright signed off his emails and letters ‘Guy Brush & the Dairy Pirates + Tinkerbell the naughty fairy,’ and claimed he represented dairy farmers who had been underpaid by Tesco.
He triggered two nationwide recalls on both Cow & Gate and Heinz baby food as a result of the threats, prompting the supermarket to clear 140,000 products from the shelves.
A detective posed as a Tesco employee named Sam Scott and handed over £100,000 in the crypto-currency to trap the blackmailer.
Wright was caught on CCTV buying wine and flowers for his wife after placing a contaminated jar on the shelves of a Tesco branch in Lockerbie in Scotland on November 29 last year.
He also placed two jars of contaminated food on the shelves of a Rochdale shop.
Nigel Wright pictured on CCTV (Image: HERTFORDSHIRE CONSTABULARY)
Prosecutor Julian Christopher, QC, said the blackmailer took ‘delight’ in his extravagant plan to outsmart the supermarket giant.
He believed he could ‘get rich’ without leaving any trace of his identity by using the bitcoin cryptocurrency and downloading the browser Tor allowing for anonymous communication.
But his emails and letters were forwarded onto police and he was soon unwittingly interacting with an undercover officer.
A draft of an email to Tesco was found on one of Wright’s devices after his property was searched.The threat read: “Imagine a baby’s mouth cut open blood pouring out and the inside of their belly cut and bleeding.”
He was remanded in custody ahead of sentence due to take place at a date to be fixed after pre-sentence reports are prepared.
The sentencing next month at The Old Bailey is a world away from his respected role as the Conservative councillor for Freshney ward, which he won in 2003 along with businessman Paul Brewster and fellow councillor Peter Bellini.Nigel Wright, 45, in a Tesco store in Lockerbie where he is accused of planting a jar of Heinz baby food laced with fragments of a craft knife as part of a plot to blackmail the supermarket chain for £1.4 million in bitcoin.(Image: PA)
Campaigning for the Freshney ward, aged 28, he said: “My aim is to make the community a clean and safer place, where children can play happily and people do not fear to venture out after dark.”
Wright campaigned for better flood defences in 2007.At his farm at Healing thousands of pounds worth of crops were devastated in floods.A prize ewe he owned drowned, but he managed to save a flock of around 50 of his sheep.Silage from a nearby turkey farm had contaminated flood water.
His animals were again in the news when one of his rams was killed by a dog.Wright called on all dog owners to ensure their pets were kept on a lead after that incident.
Having lost the seat at a later election, he then stood for the Conservatives in Heneage ward in Grimsby in May 2007, but only secured 435 votes.
He told voters he was fan of Road Wars and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
He campaigned to reduce crime and fear of it.
In a debate about school exclusions he said school should not have their hands tied in order to expel unruly kids.He also expressed outrage when there was an arson attack on bales of straw near his then farm on Marsh Lane, Healing.He bought gifts for his wife (Image: HERTFORDSHIRE CONSTABULARY)
When someone shot a swan on the River Freshney he told the Grimsby Telegraph “Unfortunately there are people out and about who take pleasure out of doing this” and he called for people to be “more responsible.”
In a debate in the council chamber about nuisance tenants he said it was essential to monitor behaviour and also to take preventative action.
He campaigned with Councillor Bellini to support police to get tough with gangs “terrorising the streets of Willows and Wybers” and branded them “a mindless minority.”
He also served on the Humberside Fire Authority.Follow Lincolnshire Live
Sign up for the Lincolnshire Live daily newsletter by entering your email address in the box at the top of this page, underneath the photograph, and hitting the subscribe button.
Follow Lincolnshire Live on Facebook – Like our Facebook page to get the latest news stories in your feed and join in the lively discussions and comments..
