Calls for Farmhouse investigation intensify

Tuesday 31 August 2021

There have been increasing calls for investigation into advice Guernsey's Chief Minister allegedly gave to close friend David Nussbaumer about a potential self-isolation breach which went unreported at the Farmhouse Hotel.

On Saturday, Express revealed a written exchange between Mr Nussbaumer and one of his housekeepers. The leaked emails appear to show The Farmhouse MD declining to report what he himself described as an "extremely serious" isolation breach in May.

Mr Nussbaumer's emails stated that he had sought "sufficient leeway" from his friend and lawyer - CCA Chairman Peter Ferbrache - not to report the alleged breach.  

Deputies Gavin St Pier and Peter Roffey have since said that the matter should be investigated further.

I have advised those who’ve spoken up or come to me since this story broke alleging they have information in relation to this, similar or related incidents to ensure it is shared with law enforcement. https://t.co/k3taSjtdJY

— Gavin St Pier ???????? (@gavinstpier) August 30, 2021

Meanwhile Deputy Charles Parkinson has called into question the relationship between the well-known hotelier and Guernsey's most senior politician.

He has claimed that Mr Nussbaumer was able to share some of the details around the end of Guernsey's 2021 lockdown before that information was in the public domain. 

Most States members have remained silent on the issue, while the States, as an organisation, has not made any public comment on the allegations around the island's Chief Minister.

Contacted for comment, Scrutiny President Deputy Yvonne Burford said the Committee had not yet had chance to meet and discuss the matter. 

The Guernsey Border Agency has not confirmed whether there is an ongoing investigation into what is alleged to have happened at the Farmhouse this spring. 

On 23 February 2021, David Nussbaumer was able to advise his employees (by email) that:
1)Restaurants & Hotels open in two weeks time
2)Bars/nightclubs open in one month, social distancing removed
3)Borders open in August, so staycations only until end of July

— Charles Parkinson (@dep_parkinson) August 28, 2021

In the emails seen by Express, Mr Nussbaumer decided not to report an employee to the Guernsey Border Agency for what he himself described as “an extremely serious” breach of isolation rules. 

Messages he sent to the housekeeper - who was caught hiding in a wardrobe after spending 90 minutes in the hotel room of her self-isolating partner - state that Mr Nussbaumer contacted his close friend and lawyer Deputy Peter Ferbrache for advice on 27 and 28 May.

According to the email exchange, the CCA Chairman agreed to his close friend's pleas for "sufficient leeway" not to report his two employees, citing the potential cost to the business if it was made to close. 

Deputy Ferbrache said he cannot recall having conversations with Mr Nussbaumer about this. He emphasised to Express that he would “never, ever” tell anyone not to comply with Guernsey's isolation rules.

Mr Nussbaumer initially refused to answer specific questions on what he described as “private and confidential conversations” between two close friends.  

Mr Nussbaumer has since claimed that he exaggerated the seriousness of the incident in order to frighten the housekeeper and her partner, who had just been employed by Nut Tree Limited.

The hotelier also told the housekeeper to tell Public Health, when she went for a covid test, that she needed it because she had inadvertently come into contact with a guest. The 'guest' in question was her partner, who had been employed by the firm days' earlier.

What did the emails say?

Mr Nussbaumer has not denied writing the emails that are quoted below. 

At 19:13 on Thursday 27 May, Mr Nussbaumer sent a message reprimanding the housekeeper, after the incident was reported to management. 

“I cannot believe that you have been in […] room today," he said.

"You are not a teenager and this is a very serious offence. As a matter of urgency please get a covid test done tomorrow and do not return to work until such time as it is negative.”

At 21:46, Mr Nussbaumer wrote that the housemaid should be “sanctioned”, adding: “I have put a call in to Peter regarding our situation. Awaiting his call back.”

Pictured: Deputy Peter Ferbrache is the Chairman of the Civil Contingencies Authority which makes the emergency legislation that people in the Bailiwick must comply with. 

The following morning, Mr Nussbaumer wrote back to the housemaid about a conversation he said he had with Deputy Ferbrache. 

He has since claimed that he “fibbed” about doing so and that the following words “do not reflect” any conversation he had with his associate. 

“Because of the extremely serious situation which you have put us in and especially with other staff knowing the situation, I had to seek advice from Peter Ferbrache,” wrote Mr Nussbaumer. 

“His initial advice last evening was for me to report you to the border agency for violation of the covid rules.

“Because of the fines this would have cost you up to £10,000 and due also to the fact that the hotel might have been closed down by the authorities, I asked Peter to reconsider overnight and especially so having seen your email.”

“Whilst he does not believe your reasons (you were in the room for at least 90 mins) he nevertheless thinks there is sufficient leeway for me not to have to report you.”

He then tells the housemaid to describe the man as a guest to Public Health, and to say their contact was “inadvertent”. 

The man in question had, in fact, been employed by the firm just days’ earlier and was the housekeeper's partner. He was self-isolating ahead of starting work at the hotel.

Mr Nussbaumer wrote: “Please explain the reasoning you require it [the test] is because as a housekeeper you inadvertently came in to contact with a hotel guest who was self-isolating and were therefore told by your managing director to stop working immediately.”

Contacted by Express last week, Deputy Ferbrache said he had no recollection of giving those words of advice to Mr Nussbaumer.

“I can’t recollect that. I wouldn’t have told him that.”

Pressed on what he did say to Mr Nussbaumer, he told Express: “I can’t remember the individual conversation because I have many conversations with Mr Nussbaumer. He’s a good friend of mine.

“I would always advise anybody, as a general rule, if there has been a breach of the regulations, to report it and do whatever is necessary to correct it, which might involve taking a test and seeing if it is negative."

Asked if he agreed it would not be appropriate for the Chairman of the CCA to give advice on potential isolation breaches, he replied: “No, exactly, exactly. Especially as I don’t know what happened.”

He continued: “I certainly would never, ever, in all the time I have been involved in the CCA since October of last year, have advised anybody not to comply with the regulations.

“So whether Mr Nussbaumer got the wrong end of the stick, I can’t remember. I can’t remember having that conversation.”

Pictured: People who fail to comply with the Bailiwick's emergency regulations face fines of up to £10,000 and/or 3 months in prison. 

Express then called Mr Nussbaumer to ask him what advice Deputy Ferbrache had given him about the potential isolation breach. 

“Any correspondence would be private, so I’m not going to comment on that,” he replied. 

“Peter and I are friends, so anything between Peter and myself would be a confidential, friendly thing. Peter and I are in constant contact. I am not going to say any more than that.” 

Asked directly about the content of the emails and his decision that there was “sufficient leeway” not to report what had happened, he said: “I would have been on my account from Southampton Hospital. I can’t recollect those emails. I handed it over to Mr Chick. You need to speak to Mr Chick about he handled it."

Express then contacted Alan Chick, a Director of Nut Tree Limited, for his account of what happened. 

“I wasn’t directly involved in this at all,” he replied. “As far as I was aware, David wrote those emails to put the fear of God into them.’

Mr Chick said there had been a separate incident at the Cobo Bay Hotel a few days later, which is the one he dealt with. A new member of staff was self-isolating at the hotel, but walked off to the nearby Iceland store on 30 May, the day of a balcony gig. 

Mr Chick said that he had dealt with this incident for the hotel group, reporting it to the Guernsey Border Agency “straight away”.

Of Mr Nussbaumer’s comments, Mr Chick said: “Before he went [to Southampton Hospital] he obviously wasn’t thinking clearly with the news he had got.”

Pictured: Mr Chick said he had reported a separate isolation breach at the Cobo Bay Hotel to the Guernsey Border Agency, but told Express he had no involvement in the decisions made about a potential breach at the Farmhouse Hotel.

Express asked Mr Chick whether an employer should be deciding what is a breach and what isn’t.

“I am not prepared to comment on that because I wasn’t involved in the situation,” he replied. “There are conflicting stories going on at the hotel as to what happened.”

On Friday, Mr Nussbaumer emailed Express, offering further comments which he declared would “set the record straight”.

“I wrote to [the housekeeper] in the manner that I did for a couple of reasons: 

1) To cause her concern for her actions

2) And to frighten her so that she would not repeat her mistake again.”

He reiterated again that “Peter is a close friend and so I speak to him often and on a number of subjects.”

“I wish to place on record that the words I used in my email to [the housekeeper] do not reflect on anything that Peter and I might have discussed, he phoned me on a regular basis to checkup on my progress and I often returned his calls.

Mr Nussbaumer cited his poor health, saying that he “often got confused and/or got things wrong during my ongoing treatment for cancer”.

“The record is set straight and the only thing that I am guilty of is telling [the housekeeper] a couple of fibs in order to get her to realise the severity of her actions. That is the end of it.”