A FORMER soldier at the centre of a court case which descended into chaos earlier this week after three of his supporters had to be ejected from the public gallery last night spoke of his frustration at the judicial system.

Craig Peirson, who appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to be sentenced for careless driving and a public order offence, claims the court acted unlawfully.

When the district judge entered, his friends in the public gallery refused to stand and security staff were called to eject the two men and one woman, who refused to leave.

Security staff physically restrained one of the men before all three finally left after police were called.

Peirson told The Northern Echo last night that he and his supporters back the Freeman Movement, which promotes the rights of people under the common law rulings of the Magna Carter of 1215 and the 1689 Bill of Rights.

“At my original hearing, which was in June, I never gave my name in court, so I did not enter a contract and consent to be tried under statutory law,” he said.

“In September, I was tried in my absence and found guilty, but I was never given the opportunity to have my say in court.

“Under Common Law, it is the duty of the court to ascertain the facts and they didn’t do that, so they acted illegally in my opinion.”

Before his sentencing, Peirson’s three supporters had their mobile phones confiscated after an earlier hearing was illegally recorded and uploaded onto Youtube – an act which could attract a prison sentence or fine under Contempt of Court laws.

Peirson, who left the Army in 2008, said: “I don’t have a problem with the police, it’s the system that is at fault, and the more that people learn and understand about Common Law, the more people will take the same stand as I did in court.

“As far as I’m concerned, the whole court case was about making money for the Government.”

The 28-year-old, of Shetland Avenue, Thornaby, near Stockton, was found guilty of the two offences in his absence after he failed to attend his trial in September. He was sentenced to 160 hours of unpaid work, to pay £100 compensation and continue a two-year supervision order.