Syvret arrest ordered

The fate of Jersey's most senior politican remains unclear after he failed again to appear in the Island's Magistrates Court this morning.

Senator Stuart Syvret is in self-imposed exile in the UK because he claims he cannot get a fair trial in Jersey where he faces charges relating to breaches of the Data Protection Law and driving offences. The charges carry a maximum total fine of £5,500

Senator Syvret claims the court is biased and 'politicised' and is therefore stacked against him. He was due to appear this morning to put his case as to why he does not believe the court will give him a fair hearing, but failed to show. Instead he is in London preparing a case against the Justice Minister Jack Straw for failing to ensure a fair judicial system exists in Jersey.

The Senator was on bail of £100, which he has not paid, and this morning Magistrate Bridget Shaw was left with little alternative but to order his arrest. The Magistrate has no power to hear the case in the absence of the defendant.

It is up to the Law Officers Department now to decide whether to execute that order. They will have to get it approved by a UK judge before authorities there can enforce it. Senator Syvret claims he will not return to the Island until the judicial system changes. That leaves the situation in something of a stalemate unless local authorities decide to pursue the arrest order.

If Senator Syvret DOES return voluntarily to the island, he will immediately be taken into custody and brought before the court as soon as possible. In the meantime he remains a guest of UK Lib Dem MP John Hemming at his London flat.

Syvret arrest ordered