The man behind a plot to blackmail Tesco has been sent to prison for six years.
Philip McHugh, a former tax inspector, made a series of bomb threats against Tesco in July last year, forcing it to evacuate 14 stores, costing the chain £1.4m in lost business.
McHugh, from Clitheroe, Lancashire, who had £37,000 in debts from online gambling, wrote 83 blackmail letters to Tesco. He started by threatening to put caustic soda in food unless he was paid £100,000. He then switched to bomb threats.
He sent 76 letters to stores warning them bombs would go off on 14 July, but the postal strike meant only a fraction arrived in time. Tesco still had to evacuate customers from stores.
St Albans Crown Court heard that after some blackmail money was put into an account set up by police, McHugh only managed four withdrawals of £200 a time - the maximum he could withdraw in a day - before his face was captured on CCTV and he was arrested.
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