Deputy says code of conduct complaint is 'dystopian'

Guernsey's States will have to decide whether to suspend Deputy St Pier for 25 days

A politician who has been recommended for suspension by a parliamentary watchdog has described the process as "extraordinary and dystopian".

The independent appeals commissioner recommended Deputy Gavin St Pier would be suspended from the States of Guernsey with no pay for 25 days.

It follows him being found to have broken the States' code of conduct by the commissioner for standards, Dr Melissa McCullough, for a conversation with a journalist from The Guardian newspaper.

Deputy St Pier said using the code of conduct "to prevent elected representatives from speaking to the media about public interest issues undermines democracy".

The complaint surrounds a long-running saga involving St Pier and Dr Sandie Bohin, a paediatrician at Guernsey's Medical Specialist Group.

In a speech in 2022, St Pier named Dr Bohin as one of the clinicians involved in an investigation into safeguarding. The investigation found no wrongdoing.

He was subject to a complaint that he had abused parliamentary privilege in naming Dr Bohin, which was thrown out by the States.

However, he was found to have broken the States' code of conduct and was formally reprimanded by the States.

Dr Sandie Bohin is a paediatrician at Guernsey's Medical Specialist Group

What does the new report say?

This new code of conduct complaint was submitted by Dr Bohin and related to a phone call Deputy St Pier had with a journalist at The Guardian newspaper.

Following an investigation, Dr McCullough said this phone call broke the States' code of conduct and recommended St Pier be suspended from being a deputy for 30 days.

Dr McCullough found his actions constituted bullying, breached six sections of the States' code of conduct and were not in the public interest.

St Pier appealed this verdict, and stated that it was a disproportionate sanction, that he was acting in the public interest in his role as a deputy and that he only confirmed facts already known to the journalist.

The appeal was largely dismissed by appeals commissioner Martin Jelley, but he partially upheld a claim that the sanction was disproportionate, and recommended a slightly shorter suspension of 25 days.

What's the reaction?

Following the release of the appeal report, St Pier said: "The simple facts of this case are that I verbally confirmed facts to a journalist and for that, the proposed consequences are extraordinary and dystopian.

"If the States endorse this recommendation to suspend me, they will be setting a very dangerous precedent for deputies, and for the fundamental role we play in seeking accountability and challenging vested interests.

"In short, the use of the States' code of conduct to prevent elected representatives from speaking to the media about public interest issues undermines democracy."

A debate will take place on whether St Pier should be suspended in November.

Some members have questioned privately whether St Pier should be removed from his position on Policy and Resources if he is suspended from the States.

Dr Bohin and the Policy and Resources Committee have been approached by the BBC for comment.