Christian Aid door appeal 'is chugging'

His initial comments were made in posts on social media site Twitter, where he said: 'some good development/aid projects but can't give: 29p/£ fundraising, governance & campaigning inc against Guernsey.'

The second tweet read: 'door-to-door appeal: is it the closest thing to 'chugging' we experience in Guernsey?'.

Deputy St Pier's committee is due to report shortly on whether to increase the States' overseas aid budget – some of which has been donated to Christian Aid projects in the past, including £60,000 last year and £250,000 during the three years before that.

Talking to the Guernsey Press, Deputy St Pier was keen to point out that the charity had some excellent aid and development projects and that he had 'the greatest respect and admiration' for those who were going door-to-door to collect funds.

'I personally do not feel comfortable giving to that particular charity, particularly when a reasonable amount of every £1 goes towards political campaigning, which, in my view, is in an ill-informed and bias way against Guernsey,' he said.

Christian Aid's local Guernsey coordinator, Michelle Champion, said it did not target any one jurisdiction during its campaigning.

'We are concerned about the impact of the system as a whole. Our main concern is the secrecy about the true owners of companies. This can be damaging, especially for developing countries which lose billions of pounds each year in illicit financial flows. Money which could be used for vital services.'

She also defending how it collected money, saying it happened once a year and people were not obliged to give.

'It is people in the Guernsey community who collect from their neighbours or churches and see it as an opportunity to meet with others in their parish,' she said.