Poison doctor guilty of frame plot

A jailed doctor who tried to poison his pregnant lover has had his jail sentence extended by two years after he was found guilty of plotting to frame her from behind bars, according to police.

Edward Erin was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court for a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The medic was previously jailed for six years in 2009 for trying to give Bella Prowse miscarriage-inducing drugs by grinding up tablets and spiking her Starbucks coffee and then a bottle of orange juice.

He is now to serve the sentence handed down to him today by Judge Richard Price consecutively to that which he is already serving.

For the offence of perverting the course of justice, Erin had contacted a former cellmate, Joe Mallia, asking him to steal Miss Prowse's mobile phone and send fake messages saying she had made up evidence against him.

Mr Mallia told the Sun newspaper of Erin's plan after he was freed from jail in May 2010. He also claimed that Erin wanted him to kill her and their son as part of the plan.

The newspaper then arranged for him to secretly tape the jailed doctor during a visit to Parkhurst prison on the Isle of Wight.

In the video handed to police, Erin dictated the message he wanted sent to Miss Prowse's boss from her mobile.

Erin, of Watford, Hertfordshire, told Mr Mallia: "You say 'I can't live with my life any more. I set Ed up, I put the drugs in the drinks. Ed was the best ever. He's done nothing wrong but I have lied to the police and the court and I can't get busted because of my baby. What should I do?"'

Mr Mallia told the Sun: "Erin said if Bella was killed he'd be freed and not struck off the General Medical Council.

"He wanted me to do it and kill her baby... I never intended to kill her and was just stringing him along."

Speaking after Erin was sentenced, Detective Sergeant John Stirling, of Hampshire and Isle of Wight police, said: "This is an offence against the courts which has been taken seriously.

"The judge said he would have given him a more substantial sentence if he hadn't already been serving a substantial sentence already."

Erin was caught for the previous offence, which happened in 2008, after Miss Prowse became suspicious and took the poisoned drinks to police.

She spent her pregnancy not knowing if her unborn baby had been harmed by the drugs she had unwittingly taken.

Erin was a chest consultant at St Mary's hospital in Paddington, west London, when Miss Prowse, who worked there as a secretary, became the latest in a series of affairs.

They had a brief relationship after a Christmas party, but six weeks later she found she was pregnant and refused to have an abortion.

Despite the attempted poisoning, she later gave birth to a healthy boy, Ernie.

PA