Chemistry lecturer cleared of charge

A university chemistry lecturer who saw one of his students lose part of a finger in a violent laboratory explosion was yesterday cleared of failing to make a suitable risk assessment.

The judge at Knightsbridge Crown Court ordered the jury to find Dr Clive Wilfred Bird, 64, of Upminster, east London, not guilty after the court was told that he had given instructions to the 23-year-old student, Lakhbir Pooni, before the experiment at King's College, London.