Private prosecution against judge and lawyer in bridge case

The lawyer representing Margaret and Keith Berryman in a long-running bridge collapse case has started a private prosecution against a judge and an Army lawyer.

In 1994, beekeeper Ken Richards was killed when the Army-built bridge leading to the Berrymans' King Country property collapsed.

A coroner ruled in 1997 that the Berrymans were responsible because of a lack of maintenance on the bridge and the couple have fought the decision ever since.

The Berrymans' lawyer, Rob Moodie, said his proceedings allege former solicitor-general Terence Arnold - now an Appeal Court judge - and Army lawyer Hamish Hancock were an accessory to perverting the course of justice regarding the coroner's report into Mr Richards' death.

He said the allegation was that they suppressed evidence and assisted the Army, knowing it had been a party to obstructing the course of justice, by binding him to confidentiality in regard to the Butcher Report.

The report by a civil engineer later showed up discrepancies in the evidence the Army had given to the coroner's inquiry.

Justice Arnold and Mr Hancock are to appear in Wellington District Court on August 9.

- NZPA