A council vice-chairman has been accused of "laughing in the face of justice" following missed court dates and a warrant for his arrest.

A warrant was issued against Chigwell parish councillor Richard Alvin in November 2017 for a contempt of court charge.

It followed two missed dates in 2016 at Romford County Court where the veteran politician was asked to pay £8,053.48 to SeSys, a security camera firm his company Audere Capital had acquired a CCTV system from in 2015.

Audere refused to pay SeSys for the camera system, claiming it was broken.

Despite the well-known businessman regularly attending council meetings advertised ahead of schedule, the warrant was not served by Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court for unknown reasons.

In a letter to the court David Cawkell, managing director of SeSys, wrote: "We find it incredible that the warrant for the arrest of this man has failed to be served despite his public presence as the vice-chairman of Chigwell Parish Council, him conducting various radio broadcasts and television appearances (all publicly available) and his promotion as an inspirational speaker for schools.

"How difficult can it be for professional bailiffs to find this man and serve a warrant?

"The failure of this warrant being served is utterly unacceptable and has left an individual, who is already in contempt of court, laughing in the face of both justice and creditors."

Following the sale of Cllr Alvin's Chigwell house more than £3,000 was paid to SeSys for its legal costs, settling his personal portion of the debt.

The politician, whose Wikipedia page says he was dubbed Business Person of The Year in 2013 by the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Dockland's Business Club, disputes that payment and all others to SeSys.

Despite the company's claim it offered several times to refund the camera system if it was returned and its denial it was defective, Cllr Alvin has argued neither point is true.

He said: "I have already begun the legal process to challenge the orders against me.

"The debt from which the warrant for my arrest arose has been paid but I am looking to recoup this.

"SeSys supplied the company with faulty equipment in the first place which is the basis of the disputed invoice. The company has also suffered a loss which needs to be considered."

While the court costs personally levied against Cllr Alvin have been paid, Audere Capital still owes £8,053.48 for the cameras Cllr Alvin said the system failed three times within a month and was repaired on the first two but not third occasion.

He said the company failed to repair it the third time, which SeSys denies.

The councillor also said he was "furious" about the whole situation, and did not understand why correspondence, including the court summons, was sent to his now vacated home address.

This wrongly addressed correspondence was what led him to miss the court dates, which he claimed he was not aware of.

Cllr Alvin added: "We are also seeking advice on recovering the losses suffered by the company as a result of SeSys equipment being defective."

Editor’s note: The opening paragraphs of this  story were amended after publication (upon a concern expressed by Mr Alvin) to remove the words accusing Mr Alvin  of “avoiding” the warrant and to clarify that the warrant was issued but not served (as explained later in the story).