There is something about the human mind that causes it to seek recognition and status. Homo Sapiens is a social creature by nature, but the consequences when that basic need for companionship becomes pathological can be unpleasant for the individual and for society.

Andrew Purdy, who describes himself as a property developer, has been jailed for three months, having been found guilty of wasting police time in relation to his involvement in the high-profile investigation of a series of brutal murders of women in Ipswich. According to the Bristol Evening Post:

Purdy...had made nearly 30 calls to officers after the women's bodies were found near Ipswich in December, prosecutors said.

Andrew Purdy first came to prominence in the South West of England in late 1997, when he announced a deal worth £95 million to purchase 9,200 council houses owned by South Somerset Council, with the backing of the banking conglomerate Nomura. The deal sounded plausible, in that Nomura had financed a similar deal for the takeover of over 50,000 Ministry of Defence houses across the country, but after a statement from the council that "There will be no negotiations with Andrew Purdy over the future of the council's homes"  nothing further was heard.

Purdy was back in the news a few months later, writing about his experiences with prostitutes. He claimed to have spent thousands of pounds purchasing sex over the previous six years. He said:

Prostitutes are not all in it for drugs. Many have hardship problems and most are nice girls. They provide a service to the community and are earning money to live off.

Purdy's statement earned him a place in an ITV documentary about kerb crawlers and sex workers. In a strange coincidence, the air date of that documentary was only one week before Purdey was sentenced to two months in Jail by Dorchester magistrates for falsely claiming to have tampered with milk from a Dorset dairy business. His defence brief told the court Purdy was now facing bankruptcy,

had hada sheltered upbringing [,] difficulty forming relationships [...and]was a vulnerable and simple man who led a lonely life, lived in a fantasy world, and had vulnerable self-esteem

The hoax phone call claiming to have poisoned milk was also revealed to be part of a pattern - Purdy had a previous conviction for making a hoax bomb call to a former girlfriend.

Purdy was back in the news in late 1999 - his company "Land Research 2000 Ltd." - probably a reference to Land Research Ltd. Company No. 04203037 which lists ANDREW CHARLES JOHN PURDY, DoB December 7, 1962 as a director - was first reported to be seeking a site in Plymouth for a 15-acre IKEA store. Land Research also received favourable press in February 2000 for a proposed £120 million tram network for Plymouth. Purdy said:

We are talking to the South West Regional Development Agency and we will be talking to Plymouth City Council. The money is there ready to do it.

Plans for the tram system were presented to the Council around August 2000, at which point nothing further was heard. And suffice to say, as of March 2007 there is no IKEA store in Plymouth.

Which brings us up to December 14th 2006. Under the headline "I'll save the Hydro", Andrew Purdy announced plans to privatise the UK Hydrographic Office as a means to prevent its departure from Taunton. The MOD response?

However well intentioned, private individuals aren't in a position to purchase parts of the Ministry of Defence. The future trading status of the department is a matter for the Government to decide, as is the decision on the best location for the department to continue its vital work, protecting the safety of millions of lives at sea.
Andrew Purdy's link to the Ipswich case became national news on December 16th, 2006. Seen at the memorial service in Copdock comforting a local prostitute, Purdy told a PA reporter of his personal contacts and friendship with many of the murdered women. The police publicly stated that they would be interested in speaking to him

By December 18th, Purdy had embellished his story. He was now a "mentor" to prostitutes in the town with links to an unnamed Bristol drugs charity. His comments were actively sought after the arrest of a suspect, and he felt compelled to publicly state that he was not the killer.

News of his conviction for wasting police time broke in March 2007. The magistrate's verdict?

[S]ad and stupid

Andrew Purdy is the author of his own misfortune, but I hope that the next time he feels the urge to seek publicity, journalists will take a moment to search for his name in Google or LexisNexis, and avoid giving this vulnerable man the means to get himself into more trouble.