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A Guernsey politician has admitted that he was behind a controversial Twitter account that told a “non-local” Occupation historian to “leave Guernsey alone” following an investigation by Express.
Deputy Chris Le Tissier denied that his posts amounted to ‘trolling’ but said that his months of social media activity was an “uncharacteristic lapse of judgment.”
Although the anonymous tweets were presented as the views of a concerned member of the public rather than an elected official, his party - The Guernsey Party - said it was investigating its member’s conduct.
Deputy Le Tissier was contacted by Express this week following claims that he was the man behind controversial tweets, which have now been deleted.
After initially refusing to comment, he later said that he had written and posted them.
Pictured: One of Deputy Le Tissier's controversial Tweets.
Tweets from the account include ‘The Pirate’, which was a recent username of his, 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 and Resources President Peter Ferbrache deserved to be Chief Minister because “he is local [and] Gavin St Pier is not.”
Following an Express investigation, Deputy Le Tissier was linked with Twitter and YouTube accounts which shared the same handle.
He was clearly visible in some of the YouTube videos, including one, since deleted, which contained a surreal depiction of the USA bombing Guernsey.
Pictured: One of the times that 'Radio Sutch' identified himself in a YouTube video containing a surreal depiction of the USA bombing Guernsey to a distorted rendition of 'Sarnia Cherie' on Liberation Day 2015.
Admitting to being behind the posts, the Deputy said: “I am sorry to admit that the Twitter profile, which has been the subject of a Bailiwick Express article, was mine. I have now deleted this profile.
“The profile was my personal Twitter account for about ten years. When I stood for election, I created a new profile for campaigning purposes but failed to delete my former personal profile.
“Many of my comments have been taken out of context, and I do not believe they constituted what is commonly described as ‘trolling’.
“However, I admit that it was inappropriate for me to comment on things in such a manner after becoming an elected official. I also acknowledge that people may have been upset by some of my comments. That was not my intention, and I apologise for any offence caused.
In his 2020 election pitch, Deputy Le Tissier decried “the backstabbing and petty rivalries” that he said he had observed in the 2016-2020 States Assembly. He finished 37th out of 38 successful candidates in October.
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