Kitchen porter cleared of school soup poisoning

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.

But after two-and-half hours’ deliberations, a 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 relief as the verdict was read out.

During the trial at Aylesbury Crown Court in Buckinghamshire, a trainee chef told the jury she had seen Cook in the kitchen lacing the soup with a sanitising destainer.

Louise Samples, 21, said she witnessed this at about 3.30pm on March 11 last year after staying behind during the break between shifts to do some studying.

The soup was destined for about 100 pupils and staff at the £27,000-a-year school. But the presence of the cleaning product in it was detected during a routine tasting and no one was injured.

Cook said he had walked through the kitchen carrying cleaning products for the drains but there was “no way” he could have poured the substance into the pots.

Detective Inspector Russ Murden of Aylesbury Criminal Investigation Department said: “Thames Valley Police will continue to fully investigate all allegations of foul play and particularly those incidents which affect young and vulnerable people.”