Haut Du Mont trial: Gas workers say colleague rushed work and ignored best practices

Neil Armstrong, Lee Ward, and John Wright (L-R)
The court heard from recorded interviews from Lee Ward (middle) and John Wright (right) where they talked about working with Armstrong (left) as a colleague and the day before the fatal gas explosion. Credit: ITV Channel

Two gas workers said in police interviews that their colleague was rushing work and did not follow proper work practices the day before a fatal gas explosion.

The trial into the Haut Du Mont explosion heard further recorded interviews with defendants John Wright and Lee Ward from the days after the incident.

Neil Armstrong, 58, Lee Ward, 59, and John Wright, 60, are each charged with 10 counts of gross negligence manslaughter, one for each person who died in the explosion.

Island Energy is also charged with two counts of breaking Health and Safety Law, with the current CEO Graeme Millar appearing on the company's behalf. He himself is not on trial.

All defendants and the company have pleaded not guilty.

Neil Armstrong, Lee Ward, and John Wright (L-R) worked for Island Energy at the time of the incident. All three have pleaded not guilty. Credit: ITV Channel

The court was played more of an agreed edited version of a video-recorded interview of John Wright on 20 December 2022 in which he told officers that he was pressured by his supervisor Neil Armstrong.

He was asked by one police officer: "Did you make it clear to [Armstrong] that you wanted to do a test?"

The officer was referring to a pressure test used to detect gas leaks.

Wright replied, "No, no, no, not arguing with Neil [...] 'Get it back on', that was all we were told; it was a rush, rush, rush to get that piece back in."

"He said if anyone asks, tell them we’ve put it on the test and I, I wasn’t comfortable."

Wright then alludes to the fact that he had spoken with his family before about a strained relationship with Armstrong.

Wright said in his interview: "My whole family know about Neil because there’s always sort of, there’s always something there and I was just cheesed off.

"When Neil phones me, I put it on speaker, 'cause I’ve got a witness listening to what he’s saying [...] what's coming out basically and that's- you shouldn't have to do that, but yeah, that's how it's got to me now."

The trial heard the police interviews with two of the defendants in the days after the gas explosion that killed ten people. Credit: ITV Channel

Two days after Wright's police interview, defendant Lee Ward was questioned by officers.

He told them that Armstrong had been in a rush to complete the works and had insisted on wiping gas pipes rather than scraping them.

He told officers: "I think he was under pressure 'cause he wanted to get this pipe back on 'cause I hadn’t finished.

"He took it out of my hand and wiped it, but I kept hold of it and carried on scraping and then gave it him fully scraped."

Wright explained to officers that when a pipe was cut, workers were not meant to wipe the end and then fuse it, saying that the pipe had to be cleaned properly.

"The method is you’ve got to scrape all the oxidation off the pipe 'cause it's got dirty bits, so it's got to be nice and clean.

"You can clean it with a, with a paper towel, but it’s not clean [...] It’s not clean properly; that’s why you scrape. You have little filings that you just scrape off, literally scratch it off."

Ward also told officers the scene at Haut Du Mont on the morning of the explosion, saying: "When I came up Mount Bingham, and over the top, I could see all the, the fire and just seen the devastation there with my own eyes.

"Your brain just couldn’t comprehend at that time in the morning; it was just, yeah, just didn’t seem real."

The three defendants and the company have all pleaded not guilty, and the trial continues.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...