Jail 'no big deal' for former Jersey politician Syvret

Stuart Syvret said the prisoners he met in La Moye were "very friendly"

Former Senator Stuart Syvret has said spending a night in Jersey's La Moye prison was "not a big deal".

Syvret was jailed for 10 weeks for contempt of court after leaving Jersey for six months whilst facing data protection and motoring charges.

He spent one night in jail before being released on bail pending an appeal against his conviction for contempt of court.

Syvret, 45, has also refused to do community service.

"Obviously one would prefer not to be in prison, but all things considered it wasn't bad and the staff were perfectly professional and polite," he told BBC News.

'Psychologically prepared'

He said the prisoners were "very friendly".

"I knew a lot of them anyway - former constituents I'd tried to help over the years and one or two people I recognised from my school days," he said.

"So actually being in prison wasn't that big a deal - it was something I was psychologically prepared for."

Syvret was jailed on Wednesday by magistrate Bridget Shaw.

He was also fined £4,200 and ordered to pay £10,000 in prosecution costs for the data protection breach.

His sentence has been condemned by some MPs in the UK.