A MAN jailed for lying in court about helping runaway Highbridge mum Rebecca Minnock has been released early.

Andrew Butt, 56, was jailed on June 12 for 28 days after he drove 35-year-old Ms Minnock and her son, Ethan, to Cheltenham, Gloucesteshire after a judge ruled that the boy should live with his father.

Butt was jailed alongside Ms Minnock's mother Louise for contempt of court after they told a court they did not know where Ms Minnock and Ethan had gone.

Judge Stephen Wildblood QC said that he accepted Butt had expressed regret for his actions but warned him that he may still face purgery charges.

During the hearing at Bristol Crown Court yesterday, Judge Wildblood said: "You have disgraced yourself publicly.

"You lied to the police. You lied twice in your evidence. You may face prosecution for perjury which, as I have explained, is a serious criminal offence.

"You admit having told serious lies in evidence and I found to the criminal standard of proof that you told further lies under oath. You deliberately obstructed the Tipstaff, the police and the court in their work.

"You have caused considerable amounts of public money to be wasted."

Judge Wildblood added: "You are now marked as a man who lies and who has been to prison for a serious contempt.

"You may well face prosecution for your lies. As far as this family court is concerned I consider that the court has sufficiently marked its deprecation of your actions and that you should now be released.

"I therefore accept that you should now be released from custody, having purged your contempt."

Three-year-old Ethan was reunited with his father Roger Williams on Friday after Ms Minnock handed herself into police in the Oxford area - 17 days after being driven to Cheltenham by Butt.

In a statement Mr Williams said: "“I am hugely relieved and grateful that Ethan has been returned safely and is now able to resume a calm, normal daily routine.

"The last few weeks and months have been a time of immense anxiety and distress for Ethan and for me and my family.


“I am very grateful to the authorities, the Family Court, my legal advisers and members of the press for the hard work that has gone into ensuring this situation is resolved in Ethan’s best interests.


“My primary focus is on Ethan and his wellbeing and I would ask that the matters that remain to be addressed are considered in a calmer atmosphere and without the glare of the media.”