Reprimanded Guernsey politician criticises complaints process as 'absurd'

A Guernsey politician has lambasted a complaint process that led to a formal reprimand this week.

Guernsey's former Chief Minister Gavin St Pier was formally reprimanded by the Bailiff for breaching the States Code of Conduct on Wednesday 23 October.

Deputy St Pier was officially rebuked for naming local paediatrician Sandie Bohin in a 2022 States speech as one of the clinicians involved in an investigation into safeguarding concerns.

On Wednesday's States sitting, some in the house called for St Pier to apologise.

However, on Thursday 24 October, Deputy St Pier released a statement where he described the time taken to process the complaint as "absurd", adding that the code of conduct process should never have been used in this way.

Deputy St Pier explains: "Parliamentary privilege is an ancient and key principle of parliamentary democracy. It exists to enable truth to be spoken to power without repercussion.

"The coverage arising from this case in the media and on social media has been extensive since April 2022. Each time the story is told, more individuals have come to me with their own families’ concerning experiences.

"We all know there is an inherent imbalance in the relationship between patients and their medical practitioners which prevents many people from speaking out.

"I have been elected to represent the community and that includes giving a voice to the voiceless, which I will continue to do so long as I serve in this role.

"The debate was a missed opportunity for the States to acknowledge the trauma experienced by too many families, and accordingly apologise to them."

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