Copyright jerseyeveningpost
ISLAND Energy and three of its former employees are to be tried in next September for charges connected with the Haut du Mont explosion. The gas explosion, in the early hours of 10 December 2022, took the lives of ten residents of the block of flats. In a hearing bringing together all three cases relating to the explosion, the Royal Court said Island Energy and the three men were to jointly face a jury trial starting on 7 September 2026. A sentencing date for the States Employment Board, which admitted health and safety offence, was set for 4 December 2026. In May, three Island Energy staff – Neil Armstrong (56), Lee Ward (57) and John Wright (59) – were each charged with ten counts of gross negligence manslaughter. They pleaded not guilty in the Royal Court. And Islands Energy chief executive Graeme Millar, appearing on behalf of Jersey Gas in the Royal Court in May, denied two charges under the Health and Safety Law. In a hearing in September, Government of Jersey chief executive Andrew McLaughlin pleaded guilty to offences under the same law, on behalf of the States Employment Board. They relate to a number of failings, including a failure to appropriately triage calls, inadequate supervision of emergency control room controllers, inadequate training and the absence of policy in relation to dealing with gas-related calls. Commissioner John Saunders was presiding.
