Chief Pleas acting as a kangaroo court

It is as if Sark’s government is thumbing its nose at the world, determined to show that it cannot be forced to follow any standards of governance.

It does not matter whether the board of Isle of Sark Shipping are culpable or blameless for the ferry firm’s current troubles, they deserve an opportunity to defend their actions.

Without that, Chief Pleas becomes little better than a kangaroo court, dispensing justice with little regard for evidence or procedure.

By Policy & Finance’s own admission this is a matter that has been ongoing for months, if not years.

Yet its report was published within a few hours of an early evening debate and the best it can offer is a two-day delay.

People’s livelihoods and reputations are at stake, yet elements of Chief Pleas are determined to bring the axe down without giving any reasonable time for the charges to be understood and an opposing argument drawn together.

Instead, P&F’s hatchet job was spliced into a 108-page document covering matters as diverse as committee elections and coronavirus regulations and conseillers were asked to make a snap decision.

More than that, the report is woefully short of detail. Two new executive directors and one non-exec are proposed to replace the current board with no information about who they are and why they are qualified for what is clearly a difficult task.

What vetting process was undertaken to select the new directors? Clearly it was not an open and transparent procedure.

But then, that is the Chief Pleas way. Closed-door meetings, hidden agendas, secret cabals.

It is an affront to democracy and an embarrassment to the people of Sark and the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Couple this shambles with the inexplicable decision to return Lt-Colonel Reg Guille to the heart of government and the failure to hold genuine elections or debates and it is as if Sark is daring the UK government to flex its muscles.