A scientist at Porton Down, the UK government’s highly controversial and top secret military laboratory, has been charged by police after being ’stung’ by paedophile hunters trying to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Alexander Aplin has been suspended from his role at the laboratory in Salisbury, pending his trial on 23rd August, where he will be prosecuted for attempting to meet a child for sex, grooming and attempting to engage a child in sexual communication.
He had groomed the ‘decoy’ for three months using a social media profile with a fake name and location - when ‘she’ asked him what the age of consent was in the UK, he responded that he didn’t know. Alpin also requested the ‘teenager’ should try her Mum's underwear on, and sent thousands of images, often using a banana to illustrate certain sex acts he wished her to perform, and a video tutorial on how to masturbate.
Porton Down was prominent in investigations into the apparent nerve agent attack on former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March 2018 - the facility is a mere eight kilometers away from Salisbury, and samples of the substance that contaminated the pair were sent there for evaluation. Former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan has alleged a “well-placed” source informed him Porton Down’s scientists were unable to identify the nerve agent as being of Russian manufacture, and were extremely resentful of the pressure placed on them to do so. As a result, Porton Down would only agree to the wording “of a type developed by Russia”.
The lab was also subject of intense criticism earlier this year after it was revealed around 48,400 animals had been blown up, gassed, or poisoned at Porton Down in experiments 2010 - 2017, including tests for new experimental chemical and biological agents. In one such experiment, pigs were covered body armour material before blasting them with explosives, in order to produce more effective body armour for British army troops in environments where there is a high risk of Improvised Explosive Devices being used against them.
While animal rights campaigners claim the experiments are unnecessary and inhumane, the MoD defended the practice on the basis it provides surgeons and doctors with vital training which has helped save the lives of British soldiers injured in battle.