Since their purchase of Brecqhou the Barclays have been in several legal disputes with the government of Sark over such issues as the Barclays' violation of Sark's law banning motor cars. They have also expressed a desire to make Brecqhou politically independent from Sark. Building on the research of William Toplis, the painter, and others, who argued that Brecqhou was not a part of the fief of Sark and challenging the applicability of Sark's inheritance laws to Brecqhou, the brothers have used their great wealth and consequent ability to litigate effectively to force change of Sark's legislation. This included a claim of denial of their human rights that resulted in a change to Sark's inheritance laws. Subsequently, the brothers have continued to challenge Sark's constitutional reform purportedly in favour of greater democracy.
On 11 December 2008, the Barclay brothers were in the news for pulling out their investments (which include hotels) from the island of Sark, causing 100 staff to be made redundant (one sixth of the population) and threatening the economic stability of the island after local voters did not support candidates championed by the Barclay brothers. The brothers had previously warned that if the voters chose to bring back the 'establishment' Sark leaders that are still aligned with the feudal lord then they would pull out of Sark.
