Formal reprimand for Deputy St Pier

A Code of Conduct Panel, which has since been scrapped, upheld complaints that Deputy St Pier had breached numerous sections of the States members’ code and Appeals Commissioner Martin Jelley rejected an appeal against the panel’s findings.

Thirty-two States members voted to back the sanction recommended initially by the panel and subsequently by Mr Jelley, after which Bailiff Sir Richard McMahon turned to Deputy St Pier and said it was his ‘duty to advise you that you are hereby formally reprimanded’.

Nobody voted against and three members abstained.

Liam McKenna, a dental technician by profession, claimed that Deputy St Pier had caused Dr Bohin distress and damaged health care locally.

‘As a result of his actions, there is currently no named doctor for child protection in Guernsey and there hasn’t been for some time,’ said Deputy McKenna.

‘No paediatrician in Guernsey is currently prepared to take on this role in case they, too, find their career and reputation damaged for doing what is required of them.

‘Healthcare professionals are now hesitant to make safeguarding referrals in case they are publicly named and shamed, which leaves vulnerable children in the island at considerable risk of harm.’

Deputy Lyndon Trott proposed going straight to the vote without debate, but his guillotine motion was defeated by 10 votes to 20, and was later criticised by Peter Ferbrache.

‘I have heard directly from some members of the public that they believe this will be swept under the carpet and the States will look after its own and it’s important that there is a hearing and some discussion,’ said Deputy Ferbrache.

‘Deputy St Pier is an able, intelligent and principled person, but his conduct and judgement in making the speech that he did fell far below the standard that should be expected.

‘It was poor judgement in the extreme.’

Deputy Christopher Le Tissier went further, calling for Deputy St Pier to ‘resign forthwith’.

Several members said Deputy St Pier had been within his rights to criticise local safeguarding services in his speech in April 2022, but had gone too far in naming a doctor who had no right of reply.

The Guernsey Press understands that several members were considering lodging an amendment to turn the recommended reprimand into a suspension before colleagues persuaded them to drop the idea.

Deputy St Pier, who himself spoke only to raise a point of correction and did not vote on the recommended reprimand, heard little support of his actions, although Deputy Andrew Taylor listed several mitigating factors in his defence, and also argued that it was wrong for some members to claim that the controversial speech was comparable to misconduct earlier in the term which led to Deputy Le Tissier being suspended from the States for 12 months.

Deputy McKenna appealed to the other members to learn from the long-running saga and to reform how politics is conducted locally. He deplored the Assembly’s ‘instinct to humiliate’ and claimed that deputies misusing their public platform invited others in the community to lower their standards of behaviour.

‘As an Assembly, I believe we are in a stale and toxic environment, and I believe we need light and fresh air and courage to accept there is a problem and call out this behaviour,’ said Deputy McKenna.

Deputy St Pier was previously cleared of breaching parliamentary privilege over the same speech about safeguarding services.