Last week, it was revealed that Deputy Leadbeater is facing a code of conduct complaint, accusing him of dishonesty about his and his family’s links to cannabis companies. It has emerged that he gave away shares in cannabis-related companies, arguing that they were not directly part of the cannabis industry.
The president of Home Affairs lodged the requete in January which could be the beginning of reforming laws and legalising cannabis in Guernsey.
It is expected to be debated at this month’s States meeting.
If successful, it will lead to the setting up of a working group of politicians to begin research and planning into the legalisation of cannabis.
Other signatories of the requete have said that they remain confident that Deputy Leadbeater is the correct politician to lead on the issue.
‘I was aware of Deputy Leadbeater’s previous connections to the cannabis industry. It’s not something that has been a secret and I don’t think it should preclude him from working in this policy area, as long as any interest is declared, as per the rules of procedure,’ said Tina Bury.
‘It’s not unusual for a deputy to have business interests or expertise in a certain industry, and I tend to believe that it’s useful to harness that expertise during policy development rather than exclude it.’
Andy Cameron also said that Deputy Leadbeater was the right person to lead the requete.
‘He is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable member of the Assembly on the subject of cannabis policy, and that expertise is exactly what is required if the States are to have a well-informed debate on the issue,’ he said.
‘More broadly, I think it is reasonable to question the motives behind the leak of a confidential complaint into the public domain. From what I have observed, there does appear to be a personal campaign by another deputy to try to unseat Deputy Leadbeater.’
Neither politician would comment specifically on the code of conduct complaint due to it being a live matter, however, Deputy Bury added that such matters are supposed to be confidential until they reach a certain point in proceedings.
She said it was important to let the processes run their course and reach a conclusion before taking action – ‘akin to the principle of innocent until proven guilty’.
The remaining signatories of the requete, deputies Aidan Matthews, Charles Parkinson, Gavin St Pier and Alderney representative Alex Snowdon, did not respond to a request for comment.