THE elder son of a missing Scottish couple has been seized from his

yacht off the North African coast by the Royal Navy and charged with the

murder of his parents.

Roderick Newall, 27, born in Glasgow, appeared yesterday in court on

Gibraltar and was remanded in custody for a week accused of murdering

his father, Nicholas Newall, from Bearsden and his mother, Elizabeth,

from Motherwell, at their home in Jersey in October 1985.

The Royal Navy frigate, HMS Argonaut, supported by a patrol craft, HMS

Ranger, intercepted Roderick Newall's yacht, Austral Soma, in

international waters 150 miles south-west of Gibraltar.

The arrest was made by Detective Sergeant Charles MacDowall from

Jersey police accompanied by officers from Gibraltar.

It followed the uncovering of new evidence in what had become Jersey's

most puzzling mystery. The wealthy Newalls vanished from their home at

St Brelade after a champagne dinner on Saturday, October 10, 1987, to

celebrate Mrs Newall's approaching 48th birthday.

No one ever saw them again and, despite an exhaustive search by police

convinced they had been murdered, their bodies were never found.

The couple had two sons -- Roderick, who was then 22 and had been a

lieutenant in the Royal Green Jackets, and Mark, who was then 20 and was

a stockbroker in London.

Roderick had resigned his commission a few weeks before his parents'

disappearance and had been jailed on Jersey for four weeks for

possession and importation of cannabis.

He was arrested yesterday on a warrant issued by a Gibraltar

magistrate and, Jersey police said, faced immediate extradition

proceedings.

Chief Inspector Willy Danino, of Gibraltar police, said: ''Jersey

police have been seeking this man for some time and, although he was

sighted at different places, he was always that little bit ahead of the

police. But the two officers from Jersey, acting on information, arrived

in Gibraltar at the weekend and the interception was mounted. Mr Newall

made no resistance when he was arrested.''

Another man on board was not detained. The yacht was towed back to

Gibraltar for forensic examination.

Mr Newall could accept extradition but, should he contest it, the

Jersey police would have to show Gibraltar magistrates that there was a

prima facie case to answer. Jersey police yesterday rejected any

suggestion that the arrest had been planned to avoid the difficulties of

extradition from Spain.

Nicholas Newall, 56, was a Lloyd's underwriter. He and his wife left

Scotland 24 years ago to sail to the West Indies but, on anchoring in

Jersey, decided to settle there. Mr Newall's twin brother, Dr Stephen

Newall, a company director and chairman of Strathclyde University Court

who lives at Rhu, Dunbartonshire, yesterday refused to comment on the

latest developments.

On the weekend of the disappearance, police learned that Mrs Newall

had phoned her mother in North Berwick. A married sister in London, Mrs

Nancy Clark, later expressed a wish that some positive evidence of the

couples' death be found so that they could be mourned properly.

A week after the dinner at the Sea Crest Restaurant, the Newalls were

reported missing by their sons. Forensic scientists eventually found

minute traces of blood at their home.

The first witnesses to arrive at the house, close friends of the

Newalls, had found it empty and with the back door unlocked.

The police scientists concluded that Mrs Newall had been murdered in

her bedroom and Mr Newall in the living-room below, and that there had

been massive spillage of blood. In January of last year the Royal Court

of Jersey declared that the couple were presumed to have died between

October 11 and 18, 1987, beyond all reasonable doubt.

A warrant for the arrest of Roderick Newall was issued on July 17. The

help of Interpol, the Metropolitan Police, and other police forces in

the UK and abroad was enlisted in the hunt.

The Lieutenant-Governor in Jersey called on the Home Office and the

Ministry of Defence in London to allow ships based in Gibraltar to

assist the Jersey officers. The British-registered Austral Soma was

located in international waters early on Wednesday en route for the

Canary Islands.

At a news conference last night, Jersey's chief officer David

Parkinson refused to give details of the new information which led to

the arrest.

Police say it could take up to two months to extradite Mr Newall.

Mr Newall, who is being held in Gibraltar's prison, a Moorish castle,

has been in touch with his lawyer David Le Quesne.