Barclay Family Values

While British justice basks in the glow of righteousness that emanates from prosecuting climate activists and warehousing refugees on disease-ridden prison hulks, one of the country's more prominent tax dodgers continues to evade a custodial sentence for repeated contempt of court. Sir Frederick Barclay, sometime owner of the Maily Toryguff, whose pages have occasionally been known to take a no-nonsense line on law and order, delayed paying his ex-wife's maintenance and legal costs and is still dragging his feet over a further hundred million that he owes her. The judge complained of being "left in the position of having no alternative but to make no further order by way of punishment," although last month he denounced Barclay's four or five broken promises of settlement as a "charade." Such dismal dynastic shenanigans seem rather a far cry from the good old days when Sir Frederick and his late twin brother pillaged the islanders of Sark for defying their feudal overlordship.