A man charged with the poisoning of a 43-year-old man who died in suspicious circumstances has appeared in court.

Joel Osei, 34, appeared at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Saturday accused of administering scopolamine, also known as Hyoscine, to Adrian Murphy on June 1.

Mr Murphy's body was discovered in a block of flats at Lombard Road, Battersea, on June 4.

Osei also faces a charge of administering the same drug in an earlier incident related to another man on May 30.

In June, the Metropolitan Police said the man was allegedly drugged by someone he met on a social networking site and invited to his flat.

Osei, of no fixed abode, is also charged with two counts of theft in relation to items taken from addresses during the two incidents and six charges of fraud for using the credit card of the alleged victim of the May incident.

The defendant attended court in a grey tracksuit, and spoke only to confirm his name, address and British nationality.

District Judge Nicholas Rimmer remanded Osei in custody before his next appearance at Snaresbrook Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing on November 25.

The judge told Osei: "Two of the matters with which you are charged can only be tried in the crown court, and accordingly, I surrender you to the crown court.

"The other matters are linked and accordingly I send them with the indictable matter."