Jersey gas worker ‘may have left valve open’, trial hears

The residents who died were Peter Bowler, 72, Billy Marsden, 62, Derek Ellis, 61, Sylvia Ellis, 73, Ken Ralph, 72, Jane Ralph, 71, Romeu De Almeida, 67, Louise De Almeida, 64, Raymond Brown, 71, and Kathy McGinness, 73.

Robinson told the prosecution that he was “quite shocked at the time” that no pressure test had been done to the pipes when gas was reintroduced.

“Its just a staple thing that we do in the industry… when we reconnect the supply… you always check the gas pipe before you introduce gas into the system.

“He said he’d left the valve open, he’d not plugged it, said he thought he’d been distracted when talking to a workman when there.”

The court heard Robinson then relayed this information to Island Energy CEO at the time Jo Cox as it was “a crucial bit of knowledge – evidence for us what had happened at the incident”.

Rui Tremoceiro, representing Armstrong, said the gas worker had not remembered the conversation with Robinson.

Robinson said: “When you drive past an incident like that it’s etched on your brain exactly what was said to me that morning.”

Tremoceiro asked Robinson why the conversation between the two men had not been mentioned in his first and second interview with police and he said it was because he was being “mindful” of what he was saying and because he did not have a lawyer present.

“I was just carefully listening to questions and being careful what I said at that stage… they didn’t particularly ask me about that at that point,” Robinson said.

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