Deputy ‘should be expelled’ says Code of Conduct Panel
DEPUTY Chris Le Tissier is planning to fight to keep his job, after The States Members’ Conduct Panel recommended he be expelled from the States of Guernsey.
Seven people lodged complaints against the new deputy after he posted tweets on social media under a pseudonym over a period of time.
Many of them have welcomed the panel’s recommendation, including Andrew Ozanne, who said that it was vital that Guernsey deputies had integrity and honesty.
SMCP chairman the Very Rev. John Guille established an investigation panel to consider the matter in detail, hearing both oral and written evidence.
The panel concluded that Deputy Le Tissier had breached each of sections 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11 of the States’ Members Code of Conduct by his use of and what he wrote on a Twitter account using the pseudonym ‘The Pirate’ and other names for the same account.
Deputy Le Tissier tried to defend his actions to the panel, saying that he had only tried to provoke debate and few people used their own names on social media.
‘He accepted that using an anonymous account as a deputy was wrong, although that had not occurred to him initially and no malice had been intended,’ the report stated, in summing up his evidence.
Deputy Le Tissier also said that other deputies were also using anonymous social media accounts.
In a statement yesterday the panel ruled that the severity and extent of the breaches meant that they felt the appropriate sanction was to expel Deputy Le Tissier from the States.
These findings have now been sent to the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee with a request that it submit the report to the presiding officer as soon as possible for inclusion in a Billet d’Etat with the recommendations of the panel.
Deputy Le Tissier has described the decision as disproportionate and draconian, and said he would be fighting it.
‘I’m shocked and disappointed at the severity of the panel’s decision,’ he said.
‘I am currently consulting with my advocate to see what options there are to challenge it.’
He added that he had asked for all relevant documents related to this decision to be passed to him to help him understand why the panel had reached this ruling.
Deputy Le Tissier was elected to the States of Guernsey in October.
The full report into the code of coduct investigation was released yesterday afternoon and published on the States of Guernsey website.
However, five hours later, the Secretary to the States’ Members Conduct Panel put out a statement saying that the full report should not have been published.
It said that the report should have been sent only to the States Assembly and Constitution Committee for consideration pending a policy letter to the States. However, due to a ‘procedural error’ it was also forwarded to HM Greffier and put on www.gov.gg. The report has been removed and the panel members and secretary apologised to Deputy Le Tissier for the error.
