THE poison in a vodka bottle sent to a Blackburn councillor as part of a campaign for Scottish independence was strong enough to kill him, a court heard.

Wayne Cook, 45, is on trial at the court charged with two counts of using noxious substances or things to cause harm and intimidate, under anti-terrorism legislation.

The unemployed father-of-three is accused of sending a miniature bottle of vodka filled with caustic soda to Darwen councillor John Wright in April 2007 while another parcel with the same contents was posted to a Scottish journalist, Myra Philp.

Royal Mail staff intercepted the parcel to Coun Wright but the second made it to Ms Philp.

It is alleged that the parcels were sent as part of a campaign by the Scottish National Liberation Army (SNLA) to force the British government out of Scotland. Cook denies the charges.

Another man, Steven Robinson, has pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the concentrations of caustic soda in the bottles were 20.2 and 31.5 per cent.

The worst-case scenario of these concentrations, said toxicology expert Dr John Jackson, was death. He said that ingesting the liquids would have caused damage to the gullet, oesophagus and surrounding tissues, possibly causing a hole in the windpipe. If the liquids had come into contact with the skin, he added, it could have resulted in nerve damage or caused joints to seize.

Contact with the eyes would probably have led to loss of sight. Taking a sip and then spitting it out could have led to serious facial disfigurement.

Dr Jackson said: "The chemical penetrates tissues to a remarkable extent - not just those in contact but those around it as well." The parcel was accompanied by a note signed by the SNLA threatening to kill English people "at random and with no discrimination" .

There was also a threat to poison England's water supply.

The court heard a history of SNLA activities since it formed in 1980.

Professor Michael Clarke detailed campaigns of intimidation, hoax letter bombs and fire bombing.

Cherie Blair, Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell and Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody had all been sent packages containing caustic soda, he said.

There had also been hoax anthrax letters sent to former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell and to the University of St Andrews around the time that Prince William was there.

Stephen Broad, a doorman who was a former colleague of Robinson's, told the court that Robinson bragged of his involvement with the SNLA and was a kind of "father figure" for Cook, of Robert Street, Tyldesley, near Wigan. Asked by Andrew Nuttall, for the defence, whether Cook was at Robinson's beck and call, he replied: "That's fair, yes."

Another former colleague, Sean Holland, wrote in a witness statement that Cook was "a bit of a lapdog" to Robinson.

(Proceeding)