Preheat oven to 220C/gas7. Make small incisions all over lamb with tip of sharp knife. Peel garlic & cut into slivers. Insert into incisions with spearmint leaves. Rub lamb with a little softened butter. Season lightly. Heat a griddle or large skillet until evenly hot. Sear meat on all sides to seal. Transfer lamb to a roasting tin. Roast in a preheated oven for 50 minutes, turning lamb once during cooking. Prepare cherry & spearmint compote while lamb is cooking. Strip leaves from a good handful of spearmint. Place on a chopping board and sprinkle with sugar. Chop finely. Heat crab apple jelly in a small pan. Add chopped mint & continue to heat until jelly has melted & there are no lumps. Add a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary to enliven flavours. Remove pan from heat. Stone & add cherries. The heat from jelly will be quite enough to soften cherries without allowing then to cook down to a pulp. Cool & chill lightly before serving. Test lamb by inserting a skewer into thickest part of meat & holding it there for a count of 10. Touch skewer to your lips, if it feels hot meat is cooked. Transfer lamb to a warming oven for 10 minutes before carving. Carve lamb & serve overlapping slices with cherry & spearmint compote served separately. DISCLAIMER(c) Copyright 1996 - SelecTV Cable Limited. All rights reserved. Carlton Food Network http://www.cfn.co.uk/