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More information unearthed linking Deputy to controversial Twitter account

More information unearthed linking Deputy to controversial Twitter account

Thursday 04 March 2021

More information unearthed linking Deputy to controversial Twitter account

Thursday 04 March 2021


Old pictures have been recovered that appear to strengthen the case that Deputy Chris Le Tissier is the owner of a Twitter account that has been used to troll States colleagues and criticise non-locals.

The recently-elected Deputy, who finished 37th in October's island-wide poll, has refused to comment on claims that he has been using pseudonyms on social media to comment on political issues under the guise of a concerned member of the public.

The allegations were made online and have now been investigated by Express, which has looked at two accounts – the ‘Radio Sutch’ Youtube page and a deleted Twitter account ‘The Pirate @Radiosutch299'.

The Youtube account, which belongs to a Guernsey-based "aviation enthusiast", documents its owner’s experiences of travelling in aircraft. In several videos, Deputy Le Tissier is clearly identified as the one filming as he turns the camera on himself.

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Pictured: One of the times that 'Radio Sutch' identified himself in a YouTube video. The video contains a surreal depiction of the USA bombing Guernsey to a distorted rendition of 'Sarnia Cherie' on Liberation Day 2015. The video was taken offline last week. 

The similarly-named Twitter account has been repeatedly linked to Deputy Le Tissier, which the Deputy has so far not rebutted despite having the allegations put to him directly. Tweets from the account include 'The Pirate' stating that Holocaust Historian Dr Gilly Carr should "leave Guernsey alone", and criticising her for being 'non-local'.

In the same post, he suggested that Policy & Resources President Peter Ferbrache deserved to be Chief Minister because “he is local [and] Gavin St Pier is not."

Other tweets have seen ‘Radiosutch299’ state that only people who "have the stamp, like I do [are] True Guernsey". He has also berated political figures - since his election - while saying he was, "listening to the States while WFH."

Recovered screenshots, which have been shared with Express, from the 'Radiosutch299' account in April 2020 - named then as 'Chris T' - contain two images. 

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Pictured: Like the youtube page, Chris T/Radiosutch299 describes himself as a frequent traveller interested in all the latest local aviation gossip.

The aircraft behind 'Chris T' in his profile picture is Buffalo Airways' C-GTXW, which was written off on Friday 25 September 2015 in a crash landing after the engine oil scavenge pump failed, as documented by the Aviation Safety Service. 

In one of the videos uploaded to his YouTube page in January 2013, 'Radio Sutch' visits Buffalo Airways' hangar at Yellowknife, Canada. He gets on board Buffalo Airways' C-GWIR DC3 and enters the cockpit. Looking at both images closely, it appears to be the same cockpit that 'Chris T' is sat in his Twitter cover photo:

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Pictured: Deputy Le Tissier is the man in the foreground.

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Video: 'Radio Sutch's tour of the Buffalo Airways aircraft in January 2013. 

Separately, a Periscope account also called 'Radiosutch299' contains an 'accidental' video which appears to show Deputy Le Tissier's face. 

This account, like the others, has a record of posting about air travel. 

When contacted by Express, who asked directly if he was the man behind the Twitter account, Deputy Le Tissier replied: “I am not passing comment to the media on [about] social media.”

Asked if he would refute the numerous public allegations that he was 'Radiosutch299', he again declined to comment. 

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Pictured: A screenshot of a video from 'Radiosutch299's periscope account. 

Express sent questions to the Guernsey Party on Tuesday, asking if they were aware of any links between their member, Deputy Le Tissier, and this social media activity. 

In their response, a spokesman said the Guernsey Party “has not sanctioned or taken part in any of the personal social media activity you allege”. The party said it was a matter for Deputy Le Tissier to respond to personally. 

"The Guernsey Party does have an internal code of conduct in relation to the behaviour of its representatives,” they said. “We have not received any complaint and generally speaking private social media accounts are personal matters for representatives.

"Deputies are also bound by the States code of conduct and the Party of course does not condone any behaviour by an elected representative in breach of that code."

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Pictured: In his 2020 election pitch, Deputy Le Tissier decried "the back stabbing and petty rivalries" that he said he had observed in the 2016-2020 States' Assembly. "I and the Guernsey Party can turn things around," he suggested. "We'll need to work with like minded Deputies. Anyone is welcome as long as they see our vision." 

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