‘I was subject to death threats during financial crisis’ – Trott

Lyndon Trott, the island’s chief minister from 2008 to 2012, also discussed how tax reforms and good governance steered the island through the crisis.

‘When Lehman’s was allowed to fail I confess to having felt physically sick. I knew, however, that there was no casino banking here. I also believed that we would be part of the solution, having never been part of the problem. That very much transpired to be the case,’ said Deputy Trott in an article for a special Guernsey Press supplement on the economy being published next Thursday.

He also highlighted how the island responded after a subsidiary bank in Guernsey, Landsbanki, became a casualty of the crisis a decade ago. It was placed into administration by the Royal Court on the advice of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.

‘This swift action ensured that the depositors eventually got virtually all of their deposits back, something I said repeatedly during the process was a likely outcome,’ said Deputy Trott.

However, he said that he became a ‘hate figure’ for some depositors, despite there being no failure by the Guernsey authorities – and therefore no case for using taxpayers’ money to refund depositors.

‘It culminated in what the police authorities in Guernsey considered to be some very serious threats from depositors in the Middle East.

‘I understand it was along the lines of “Give us our money back or we’ll cut off your head with a rusty sword”, although I never saw the message myself. As a result, there was enhanced security placed around my family for a while whilst these threats were investigated.’

• You can read Deputy Trott’s full article in our special supplement looking at the island’s economy a decade on from the international financial crisis, which will be published on Thursday 27 September. It will feature a range of senior island figures from business and politics, taking a rear-view look in the mirror as well as what our future could look like.