Guernsey Press

Brecqhou owners: We have no intention of taking over Sark

SIR David and Sir Frederick Barclay have insisted that they have no intention to 'take over Sark' and have offered to sell properties in the island for a reasonable price if the law were changed.

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SIR David and Sir Frederick Barclay have insisted that they have no intention to 'take over Sark' and have offered to sell properties in the island for a reasonable price if the law were changed.

In a letter sent to all the island's political representatives, new chief secretary Colin Kniveton and also sent to all residents, the Brecqhou owners hit back at a suggestion by a Sark resident that they were 'the sworn enemies of the Sark government'. 'This description was both gratuitously offensive and fundamentally wrong,' said Sir David and Sir Frederick in the letter.

They say that it was due to the challenges they brought to Sark's constitution that all conseillers are democratically elected. As part of that they also gave up their seats in Chief Pleas.

'It is absurd to say that we are enemies of Sark's government because we brought legal challenges which resulted in democratic reforms to Sark's constitution. Likewise, it is illogical to regard us as enemies of Sark's government because of our challenge to male primogeniture and treizieme.'

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