'Staff feel hopeless': Whistleblower describes culture of fear at Government HQ

  • ITV's Clare Burton reports

A senior source within Jersey’s civil service has told ITV News that staff are working in a culture of blame and fear under Deputy Kristina Moore’s government. 

They decided to speak out after the resignation of the island’s CEO Suzanne Wylie was announced last week. 

The official reason given was that Ms Wylie was leaving to be closer to family in Northern Ireland. 

The anonymous source said: “Suzanne Wylie was chipped away at over the past 6-8 months, and she's got to a position where no one wants to speak the truth. The Chief Minister promotes a blame culture, which chips away at people's confidence.

"I've seen people cut down in meetings and stopped from talking - including ministers - if they're not agreeing with the Chief Minister, so people learn to only speak when spoken to. Staff feel hopeless."

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The civil servant describes a powerful group at the top of government, made up of the Chief Minister, Deputy Kristina Moore, the Deputy Chief Minister, Deputy Kirsten Morel, and an Assistant Chief Minister, Constable Andy Jehan.

They describe an aggressive management style, which pits civil servants against ministers.

"It's Kristina Moore, Kirsten Morel and Andy Jehan who are in charge," they said.

"They are very negative, and there's a lot of curtness, and a lack of respect for the professional experience of senior civil servants. There's no consistency in the relationship - you don't know whether they'll smile at you or stab you in the back.

"I think this is about control. Suzanne Wylie is a very capable female leader. The Chief Minister is not. She doesn't have the managerial skills or ability to do the job at that level. People try to stay away from Broad Street.

"It's like when Charlie Parker was there. He was incredibly controlling and manipulative, and I get the same feeling about the Chief Minister. It's like we've replaced one dictator with another."

Kristina Moore released a statement yesterday (Monday 27 March). Credit: States of Jersey

The Chief Minister released a statement yesterday (Monday 27 March) explaining discrepancies in the timeline of Ms Wylie’s departure.

She explained that the Deputy Chief Minister had known about it when he told the States Assembly that he wasn’t expecting any further resignations, following two high profile leaders in the health department standing down. 

In an interview with ITV Channel, Kristina Moore said she is not a bully.

Responding to the testimony of this civil servant today, the Chief Minister said: "I take this extremely seriously, but we don't know who they are, or what their motivations are.

"Of course, this is a large organisation and people will at some time or another have different views on the approach.

"And I also acknowledge that the organisation is a bit tired. We've had a really busy start to our term of office. We had the hundred day plan, the government programme and of course we had to respond to the tragic incidents of both December and February."

The Chief Minister responded "no" when asked whether she was a bully and said she had not witnessed incidences of ministers swearing and shouting at civil servants.

ITV News contacted Jerseys Deputy Chief Minister and Assistant Chief Minister for a response to the claims made against them.

The Deputy Chief Minister, Kirsten Morel, said: “I do not recognise any truth in these allegations.”

The Assistant Chief Minister, Andy Jehan, said: “I refute the claims."