Minister steps down from Financial Services role

Philip Ozouf said a series of summons to the Petty Debts Court was coincidental to his resignation

Jersey's External Relations Minister has resigned his responsibilities for financial services.

Deputy Philip Ozouf said it was a "coincidence" that he had left the role after getting a series of summons to the Petty Debts Court.

Chief Minister Kristina Moore said Mr Ozouf simply wanted to "focus on the important work of external relations".

Ms Moore said ministers must uphold the "highest standards in all aspects of their lives".

She added: "One of the key objectives for my time as Chief Minister is to restore trust and confidence in government.

"Importantly, this change ensures that we have strong leadership and focused ministerial teams for both External Relations and Financial Services in this important year for the island."

Mr Ozouf's role as head was renewed on 20 January but he said it had always been the intention for someone else to take over Financial Services.

Deputy Elaine Millar and Deputy Ian Gorst will be appointed as Assistant Chief Ministers with delegated responsibility for Financial Services.

Deputy Sam Mezec said the change did not make sense.

Commenting on social media, he said: "Just days ago we were told Deputy Ozouf was keeping the Financial Services portfolio so it can have a strong team leading on it.

"Today we're told he is losing the portfolio so it has a strong team leading on it."

Deputy Lyndon Farnham said the situation was "a shambles".

Analysis by BBC Jersey political reporter Freddie Miller

The first seven months of Deputy Kristina Moore's tenure as Chief Minister have been fairly controversy-free - but some will see this as the moment her political honeymoon ended.

This U-turn comes just over two weeks since she gave Deputy Ozouf permanent responsibility for Financial Services - rowing back on a long-held plan to transfer those powers to Deputy Ian Gorst.

Then, just days ago, Deputy Moore defended Deputy Ozouf, in a statement which said: "Recent media reports about Deputy Ozouf relate to a private matter and are not linked to his work as a Minister.

"Ministers should be judged on how they perform in their official role, and Deputy Ozouf is doing an excellent job as Minister for External Relations and Financial Services…"

But now, after that statement sparked a fair bit of public comment, Deputy Moore has had a change of heart.

"Ministers must uphold and be seen to uphold the highest standards in all aspects of their lives," she says, in a new statement, announcing Deputy Ozouf will no longer be responsible for the finance industry.

The Chief Minister will hope the move allows her government to draw a line under this issue, and it's important to note that the details of Deputy Ozouf's Petty Debts Court case - and whether he disputes it - have not been made public.

But some will feel, simply, that this doesn't exactly look very good for the government.

And questions are now being asked about Deputy Moore's professional judgement, and whether - in this situation, at least - she has allowed her long-standing personal friendship with Deputy Ozouf to cloud it.

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