A GAS worker accused of manslaughter over the Haut du Mont explosion told police he was “annoyed” with himself for not standing up to his boss when he was told to reconnect the gas without carrying out what has been described as a “crucial” safety test.
John Wright told police said that he was told to “forget the test” and get the gas supply back on adding that Neil Armstrong was “the boss – he told me what to do”.
It was also heard yesterday that Mr Wright he left the site at around 6.30pm the evening before the explosion unhappy that the test had not been carried out.
His account of the work carried out the day before the disaster was heard for the first time when his police interview was played to the Royal Court’s temporary Jubilee Wharf courtroom on Monday afternoon and yesterday morning.
The jury was then shown the police interview of his colleague and co-defendant Lee Ward, who also described pressure to restore the gas supply and confirmed that no pressure test was carried out before the pipe was reconnected.
It came after their supervisor and co-defendant Neil Armstrong’s police interview was played on Monday. He said he was “almost sure” he had closed the gas valves at Haut du Mont and described why he did not return to the flats following reports of a strong smell of gas.
Mr Wright, a mains layer and team leader in Island Energy’s network operations department, carried out work to cut and later reconnect a gas pipe at Commercial Buildings on 9 December 2022 under Mr Armstrong’s supervision.
The 60-year-old is charged with ten counts of gross-negligence manslaughter alongside Mr Armstrong (58) and Mr Ward (59) following the deaths of ten people in the explosion the following morning. All three deny the charges.
Jersey Gas, which trades as Island Energy, also denies two alleged breaches of the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law 1989.
In interview, Mr Wright told police that the operations team intended to disconnect Haut du Mont but later discovered the pipe they had cut also supplied the St Helier Yacht Club, which had unexpectedly lost its gas.
“Panic stations kicked in,” he said.
The excavation, which had already begun to be filled in, was dug out again so the pipe could be reconnected.
Mr Wright said the team was “being pushed” to complete the work because the Yacht Club was due to host an event that evening and needed its gas supply restored by 6pm.
“The question was – and I did ask the question – ‘Are we going to put a test on this?’” he said.
He said a pressure test should have been carried out before the gas was restored and could have revealed an open pipe.
“If that was done, you’d have probably known there was an open end somewhere, but it wasn’t done ’cause I was told not to do it,” he said.
“I was told ‘get it connected. Forget the test, get it on’,” he said.
The prosecution has alleged that gas escaped from an open and unplugged valve at Haut du Mont after the supply was restored – something that could’ve been identified by a pressure test previously described by Crown Advocate Simon Thomas as “crucial, basic and fundamental”.
Mr Wright said he instead checked the section of pipe he had worked on for leaks after restoring the gas and found none.
But he told police: “The proper procedure was what should have happened there and I was told not to.”
He added: “This is what I was a bit annoyed about at myself…but I don’t stand up to Neil – he’s the boss. He tells me what to do.
“It didn’t go back and test, but I can’t make that call, that’s down to my supervisor.
“If he says ‘don’t’, I don’t. Neil, what Neil says goes basically.”
Mr Ward, also a team leader at Island Energy, had been called to the site at around 4pm to help Mr Wright reconnect the pipe.
In his police interview, played to jurors yesterday, he described Mr Armstrong as being “in a rush” as the replacement sections of pipe were prepared.
Asked why he believed Mr Armstrong was under pressure, Mr Ward said: “Because I think he needed to get this restaurant on.”
He said it was Christmas time and believed the Yacht Club “might have been fully booked”.
Mr Ward also confirmed that no pressure test was carried out before the pipe was reconnected.
The trial continues.
