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Deputy Gavin St Pier has responded to an email leak and calls for him to resign with an open letter, describing said leak as a "perfect example" of the mischief he was called out for accusing some deputies of.
This all comes after Deputy Peter Ferbrache forwarded an email to the media which came from Deputy St Pier, where he invited exactly half of the States Assembly to come for coffee and to "compare notes" ahead of the next scheduled States meeting.
Many of the 19 deputies not invited have since spoken out against this "secretive politics" following the leak, and the idea of the meeting has come under fire for a number of reasons.
But in the open letter to Deputy Ferbrache which he released, Deputy St Pier defended the initial proposed meeting.
"Naturally – and as you of course intended – this has created much interest among colleagues, the media and on social media. In doing so, you unintentionally (I suspect) provided a perfect exampleof the ‘mischief’ to which I was referring in my email. Sadly, therefore, I am compelled to respond in open correspondence," it said.
"Politics requires politicians to talk to each other. The Assembly is the only place where this takes place in public – and that is the exception. Frankly, it would be more newsworthy if politicians were not meeting.
"Many of these conversations go on before, during and after debate, committee or other meetings. My role requires that I convene meetings with colleagues - or attend meetings requested by colleagues. All of these meetings have only one objective: to improve the effectiveness of our government."
Pictured l-r: Deputies Peter Ferbrache and Gavin St Pier
One of the angles attacked by those in the group Deputy St Pier had invited was the fact that Deputy Ferbrache was one of the founding members of the Islanders Association, along with Deputy Carl Meerveld and Deputy Joe Mooney. He is also a member of Charter2018.
It was suggested that those groups created as much division as any group Deputy St Pier had created, as only certain Deputies were invited to any gatherings those held.
"The Islanders’ Party and the Charter Association – in both of which you are a member – have regular meetings to which I and other colleagues are unsurprisingly not invited. I have been told that the Charterists meet for breakfast on the Saturday before each States’ meeting – and have done so for some time. I would, of course, be delighted to meet with either group, should you wish to do so."
Deputy St Pier's full letter can be read below:
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