However, Gary Blanchford, the Guernsey resident who made the complaints against chief minister Trott, said did not feel the matter had been resolved, but declined to comment further, referring to a written statement. In this statement, Blanchford said in part that he had "expected to appear before the panel but was not invited", and that the Code of Conduct Committee "did not address any of the points made in the complaint and [its investigation] was carried out behind closed doors".
Blanchford also argued that his role as a spokesman for an action group formed by members who lost money in the 2008 collapse of the Guernsey subsidiary of Iceland’s Landsbanki “has nothing to do with the complaint against the chief minister”.
According to a statement released this morning, the States Members Code of Conduct Panel “resolved that Deputy Trott’s actions, as set out in the complaint made by the spokesperson for the Landsbanki Guernsey Depositors Action Group, did not breach the provisions of the Code of Conduct and that the complaint is unsubstantiated”.
In the statement, Trott was quoted as saying: “I was confident from the outset that I have acted in a proper and transparent manner. The complaint was orchestrated by the spokesperson of a lobby group that has repeatedly sought to undermine Guernsey’s reputation.
“The complaint did not just wholly unfairly and very publicly put a question mark against me. It sought to undermine the trust that people have in our political process in Guernsey. The outcome is confirmation that we have a transparent democracy in our Island of which we can all be justifiably proud.
“The best response I can give is to continue to focus on the business of doing the best for the people of Guernsey, as I have always strived to do. Throughout this period I retained my focus on doing the job of Chief Minister to the best of my abilities. I will continue to do so.”
Berry threatened legal action
Roger Berry, managing director of Concept Group, told International Adviser last month that he was considering legal action over the accusations against Trott.
“One of the claims is that I introduced Lyndon [Trott] as chief minister. But I didn’t, I never have, and I never will," he told IA on 16 Feb.
Today, Berry said: “The Concept Group are pleased that allegations of abuse directed at Lyndon Trott in his fully disclosed role of director of the company have been dismissed by the Code of Conduct Group, without qualification.
"The company was always of the view that the allegations were without foundation and misleading.”
