Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Darrell to fight on, despite latest court setback

Businessman Harold Darrell has vowed to fight on in his long-running human rights case, despite racking up millions of dollars in legal fees over the years.Mr Darrell believes he has been the victim of a conspiracy between Government, civil servants and HSBC Bank of Bermuda to have his complaints of institutional racism against the bank derailed.He has been engaged in a series of complaints and legal actions over the past 16 years, and on Tuesday, a judge ruled against him in the latest episode of the case.Mr Darrell had complained that the chairman of a human rights tribunal, which ruled against him in 2006, was biased due to business links with the bank.He asked Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons to quash the original decision of the tribunal, and order a new one to be reconvened.The judge rejected the bias allegations, declined to order a fresh tribunal, and ordered him to pay the legal fees of the other parties involved in the case.However, Mr Darrell wrote to the Department of Human Affairs straight after the court ruling to request that the original tribunal be reconvened.He wants the bank itself to be a respondent to his human rights complaint, since only the board of directors and chief executive officer were included in the original hearing.Mr Darrell said there had been no reply to his letter as of yesterday.He also confirmed that he will launch an appeal against the ruling given on Tuesday by Mrs Justice Simmons.Asked about the cost of his legal battle so far, he replied: “Over the years, it’s cost me millions.”Asked why he continues to pursue the case despite the setbacks he has faced, Mr Darrell, 58, from Pembroke replied: “It’s a human rights case. It’s cost me a lot of money, but the fact is that I don’t really want to get into it.”He added, however, that his desire to keep going is fuelled by a mixture of “self interest” and his concern for the rights “of the ordinary man in the street”.Mr Darrell described himself as a businessman, but declined to comment on his work beyond that.Director of the Department of Human Affairs Deborah Blakeney said: "The relief sought by Mr Darrell in the recent judicial review, which was dismissed this week by the Supreme Court, included his request for the establishment of a new board of inquiry.“The Court did not make such an order and until the Department of Human Affairs is so directed by the courts we have no authority to establish one.“Therefore, the ruling of the original board which heard and dismissed Mr Darrell's complaint stands."