Conspiracy theorist who left fake ‘Novichok’ at tourist attraction claimed it was bid to win Turner Prize

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A former teacher has avoided prison for placing bottles labelled "Novichok" at a Welsh castle just months after the Salisbury poisonings in what he claimed was a bid to win the Turner Prize.

"Conspiracy theorist" John Ap Evans placed several bottles purporting to contain noxious substances in Wogan's Cavern below Pembroke Castle on five separate occasions in July 2018.

Two of the bottles were labelled Novichok, the lethal nerve agent used to try to assassinate Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March of the same year.

They were later found to contain a mixture of tomato sauce, brown sauce and water but when the first bottle was discovered by a member of the public, the castle was evacuated and closed.  

Experts from Porton Down, who were working on the Salisbury poisonings at the time, were sent to investigate but no traces of any known poisons were found, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Ap Evans went on to place the next four bottles and, despite admitting guilt upon his arrest, later claimed the exercise was a "ridiculous joke" aimed at winning the Turner Prize for art.

The court heard Ap Evans was arrested after a secret camera installed at the tourist attraction filmed a suspect, and by chance a police officer later recognised him walking near his home.

Simon Davis, prosecuting, said Novichok gained notoriety after the Skripal poisonings and the later poisoning of Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess, the latter of whom died as a result.

He said Ap Evans had carried out numerous internet searches, including looking for "Salisbury nerve agent attack: the truth", "Novichok formula", "victims of Parsons Green" and "where are the Skripals?"

Ap Evans “believed the Novichok thing in Salisbury was a lot of lies” and wanted people to be aware what had happened was harmless, Mr Davis told the court. 

"He had written on the bottles as a joke to see if this 'ridiculous art' as he described it, would win the Turner Prize," Mr Davis said.

Castle caretaker Jason Kenny said in a victim statement the incidents had caused "so much worry".

"Just hearing the word Novichok makes you think of the Salisbury incident where people died," he added.

At an earlier hearing Ap Evans, from Pembroke, pleaded guilty to five counts of a hoax involving a noxious substance under section 114 of the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001.

Representening himself, he maintained in mitigation he was trying to create an artwork, saying: "There was nothing malicious in whatever I had done."

In sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas QC said Ap Evans had caused a great deal of disruption to the emergency services and a financial loss to the castle.

The judge said the Ap Davies carried out “an entirely malicious series of hoaxes” that were "deliberate, repeated and pre-planned," noting that the final four bottles were placed in knowledge of the consequences of the first’s discovery and the publicity it had attracted.

“You are in academic terms an intelligent man but you are, however, an incredibly stupid and foolish one,” the judge told Ap Davies.

"You entertain many delusional beliefs and suffer from distorted thinking about a variety of subjects.

"You are what is known commonly as a conspiracy theorist, from what I suspect, a folie a deux.

"I regret to say that in many ways you are a sad and pathetic individual who wanted to bring some excitement into their life via embarking on this stupid escapade."

The judge imposed a 21-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered Ap Evans to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and attend rehabilitation activity days.

He was also ordered to pay £2,400 compensation to the castle.

Additional reporting by PA