Alex King, 42, claimed he and escort Anna Shapiro had been exposed to Novichok
A playboy who claimed he had been poisoned by Novichok six months after the deadly attack in Salisbury is facing jail for dealing in drugs worth £60,000.
Alex King, 42, claimed he and his Russian-born partner, escort Anna Shapiro, had been exposed to the Kremlin nerve agent eating at Prezzo, an Italian restaurant in the city.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned in the Wiltshire city in March last year.
King is now a wanted man after he was convicted in his absence of supplying drugs including cocaine and ecstasy at Southwark Crown Court in London.
Jurors were told King had attempted to avoid standing trial by dodging legal hearings and coming up with excuses.
He was eventually convicted of supplying drugs in his absence and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Baljit Gill, 38, is now on trial accused of being involved in drugs supply following the raid on King's West End apartment.
It was suggested in court that King took escort bookings for Ms Shapiro (pictured)
During his evidence, Gill told the jury that King was friends with the likes of supermodel Naomi Campbell and actor Tom Hardy.
Gill said: 'He knows all the celebrities. He knows Anthony Joshua, we met Naomi Campbell.
'He knew Tom Hardy, he met Tom Hardy and he went to a premiere with him. He owns a private jet, he owns a yacht - he's got everything,' explained Gill.
Defence counsel Sebastian Gardiner told jurors that King is 'something of a playboy' - attending high-end sex parties and rubbing shoulders with various VIPs.
'He is someone that appears to revel in the lifestyle,' said Mr Gardiner, showing the jury pictures of King next to flash cars and celebrities.
The barrister went on to say that there were photos on King's phone, recovered during the raid on his pad, linking him to high-class 'sex parties.'
Mr Gardiner suggested that King took escort bookings for Ms Shapiro.
Ms Shapiro claimed she was being hunted by the Russian secret service, the court heard
He said: 'There is evidence to suggest his partner was a high-class escort, charging hundreds of pounds for her services which she would advertise with escort websites and with agencies.'
Baljit Gill, 38, is now on trial accused of being involved in drugs supply following the raid on King's West End apartment
Gill told jurors: 'I wasn't aware of what she was doing initially but I found out that she was a high-class escort, she was a prostitute.'
Mr Gardiner explained that King was released on bail following the raid in June 2016, but has twice breached the condition that he must spend each night at home in London.
'On one occasion he had to be rescued from the sea off the coast of Holyhead by the RNLI with Anna Shapiro, in the hours of darkness.
'Possibly he was trying to escape the jurisdiction, who knows,' added Mr Gardiner.
The barrister explained that the second incident came when the couple visited Salisbury last September, causing a major alert by claiming that he had been poisoned.
'Ms Shapiro claimed she was being hunted by the Russian secret service and they had been poisoned and he was on death's door.
'He hadn't been poisoned, and he was discharged from hospital two days later,' he said.
King claimed he and Ms Shapiro were exposed to Novichok at Prezzo in Salisbury (file image)
Earlier David Matthews, prosecuting, told how police raided King's home in Fitzrovia on June 29, 2016.
'Baljit Gill ran a drug supply business in central London and he did that with Alex King, they supplied cocaine.
'They were doing business on phones and delivering directly to customers, whether at customers'
