Minister defends Jersey Ports boss's £120k bonus

Deputy Elaine Millar was asked whether she thought the bonus was appropriate

The treasury minister has defended a £120,000 bonus paid to the boss of Ports of Jersey.

Deputy Elaine Millar faced questions in the States about the restructure of the Ports and the amount of money paid to Matt Thomas.

She was asked by Deputy Jonathan Renouf in a written question whether she thought the amount was appropriate after the airport management was put under special measures at the end of 2024 for several months.

Millar said she approved the bonus because of successful work at the airport, adding that it had also not needed taxpayer support since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Office of the Director of Civil Authority ordered the special measures, putting eight roles at risk - five of which were senior positions within the operational leadership team.

The measures were lifted at the end of June.

Ports of Jersey also admitted in June that it had been emailed hours before action was taken about a possible security threat that led to 300 passengers being evacuated from the airport in March.

Millar said: "While I approved the CEO's base salary and structure of the 2024 bonus scheme, it is the Ports' Remuneration Committee that is responsible, and best positioned, to assess an executive's performance against the approved KPIs [key performance indicators] and objectives, and for deciding on the awarding of bonuses."

Ms Millar added that Ports' financial performance had meant it did not need to request taxpayer support during or since the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This achievement is not to be understated, as, to the best of my knowledge, they are the only major airport and port throughout Europe not to require any taxpayer support over the last five years," she said.