Crown dependencies minister to visit small islands

It will be Lord Ponsonby's first official visit to the Channel Islands since he was appointed in July

The UK government minister responsible for the Crown dependencies will visit two of Guernsey's smaller islands this week.

Lord Ponsonby, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for justice, will visit Alderney on Wednesday and Sark the following day.

It will be his first official visit to the Channel Islands since he was appointed by the new Labour government in July.

William Tate, the States of Alderney's president, said he planned to "emphasise the importance of [Alderney's] long-standing allegiance to the Crown" while he escorted the government minister on a tour of the island.

Mr Tate said he would accompany Lord Ponsonby on an orienteering trip around the island before meeting politicians at Island Hall, while his wife would take Lady Ponsonby around Saint Anne, Alderney's main town.

Lord Ponsonby will then visit Sark on Thursday and will be greeted by the Seigneur, Christopher Beaumont, and members of Chief Pleas, the island's parliament.

Lord Ponsonby recently met a delegation of deputies from Guernsey at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

With about a population of about 2,150, Alderney is the bailiwick's second most populous island, while Sark has about 560 inhabitants, making it the third largest.

What are the Crown dependencies?

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is one of three Crown dependencies, along with Jersey and the Isle of Man.

All three territories maintain a unique relationship with the UK and the British Crown with their own governments, laws, languages and traditions.

Lord Ponsonby is the junior minister responsible for the UK's relationship with them.

The UK oversees international affairs and is responsible for ensuring the islands have "good government" and the Crown, through the Privy Council and the islands' lieutenant-governors, ratifies laws passed by each island's States.

Both Jersey and Guernsey have legal traditions based on Norman French law, though legislation has been updated in recent decades to align them closer to UK law.