States draws comfort from minister's words

An amendment from the unusual source of HM Procureur and HM Comptroller asked deputies to ‘note the contents’ of the letter from Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland, reprinted on this page.

Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache then read the letter to the Assembly for the express purpose of getting it on record in Hansard.

We can be confident that, despite the appalling quality of the audio feed from the States that day, the letter is now firmly fixed in the public record.

Given recent history, it is easy to see why the Law Officers of the Crown felt the Secretary of State for Justice’s words should be on record.

Firstly, there was September’s admission that the Government was prepared to break international law to override the Brexit treaty agreed with the EU over Northern Ireland.

That this now looks more like a strong-arm negotiating ploy than a serious proposition cannot entirely erase the feeling that the Conservative government was willing to play fast and loose with constitutional law when it suited.

This feeling was exacerbated in November when the UK government forced through its Fisheries Bill, complete with a permissive extent clause, despite howls of protest from the Channel Islands governments.

In that light Mr Buckland’s letter takes on added significance. It states categorically that the Brexit bill does not affect the constitutional relationships of the Crown Dependencies.

It also confirms that the Bailiwick is self-governing over domestic affairs, including its territorial waters, and sets out how the UK will work with the islands in the event of a dispute with the EU or a divergence of view with the UK.

And it recognises Guernsey ‘excellent track record’ of meeting international obligations.

The island can draw comfort from the minister’s letter but, given the events of 2020 and the ructions to come as the new EU-UK relationship settles in, it must continue to look for ways of strengthening the island’s constitutional independence.