Comhairle nan Eilean Siar PRESS RELEASE 17 May 2000 For Use: Immediately

An amused Chief Executive of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dr. Neil Galbraith, has said a judge's comments that a group of vandals from Leicester should be 'shipped to the Outer Hebrides for six months' are 'bizarre'.

Speaking in response to the comments by Judge Richerd O'Rorke, reported in today's Daily Telegraph, Dr. Galbraith, who is an honorary Sheriff, said:

"Although the Castaways series is set in the Western Isles it is slightly bizarre if we are to be referred to as a penal colony. Presumably the punishment should fit the crime and it would seem inappropriate to talk of sending them to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. One has to presume that the judge's comments were made in a unguarded moment. Incidentally, the last I heard, a number of the Castaways were dreading having to leave the islands when the year of the programme is over. I can certainly understand why they would wish to stay - the islands are an extremely attractive place to live and work, and to visit!"

Ends

Issued by Nigel Scott
Communications Officer