They have also had their bail extended for a second time, as police continue enquiries following the couple’s arrest in December in connection with claims of harassment made by paediatrician Dr Sandie Bohin. Police declined to confirm the end date of the latest bail period and would not say whether they expected their investigation to conclude in the foreseeable future. They said there had been no change to the couple’s bail conditions, which are understood to relate to not contacting Dr Bohin.
The Daily Mail’s apology and correction followed an inaccurate claim about the ongoing police investigation which was made in a recent edition of The Trial, a podcast run by the newspaper group.
‘I note the Daily Mail’s apology. I cannot comment further during the investigation,’ said Deputy St Pier when approached for comment yesterday.
The error in the original podcast was made in an episode which featured an interview with Dr Bohin about her experiences after giving evidence in the controversial murder trial of nurse Lucy Letby.
The apology and correction were aired in a subsequent edition of the podcast.
‘In the previous episode of the Trial+, we conducted an interview with Dr Bohin, an expert witness in the case of Lucy Letby,’ it said.
‘In that interview, we referred to a police investigation into abuse of parliamentary privilege and harassment in respect of a politician, Deputy St Pier.
‘In fact, the investigation into abuse of parliamentary privilege was conducted by a Privileges Panel set up by the States of Guernsey and it cleared Deputy St Pier of the allegations in May 2023. The police investigation relates solely to allegations of harassment, which Deputy St Pier says are untrue. We apologise for any confusion.’
The St Piers were arrested early in the morning of 3 December. They were interviewed under caution and released without charge. Six days earlier, the States Assembly had rejected a recommendation from its standards commissioner to suspend Deputy St Pier over a disputed phone call with a national journalist who was preparing a story concerning complaints about local paediatric services.
Soon after the couple’s arrest, the other members of the Policy & Resources Committee decided that Deputy St Pier should remain in post as its vice-president and treasury lead, and since then the senior committee has said that it will main ‘a neutral position’ on the issue and take no further action until the police investigation has concluded.