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The Deputy Chief Minister has been reprimanded by the political behaviour watchdog after "aggressive" behaviour towards a colleague left her fearing "he was going to hit" her, and unable to sleep.
Deputy Kirsten Morel was found to have breached the States Code of Conduct and asked to apologise by the Commissioner for Standards, following a complaint from Deputy Barbara Ward that he invaded her personal space and acted in an intimidating and verbally aggressive way.
“I felt so intimidated by his closeness and aggressive verbal manner that I thought he was going to hit me as he appeared so cross with me,” Deputy Ward told the Commissioner, Dr Melissa McCullough.
Following an investigation, the Commissioner concluded that Deputy Morel breached the requirements of Article 5 of the Code of Conduct for Elected Members by behaving in an unacceptable way towards Deputy Ward, and in doing so, failed to show her respect and courtesy.
Deputy Morel, who denied having regular "outbursts" but admitted to being "passionate", has since apologised to Deputy Ward.
Express examines what happened – and other recent clashes that have thrown Ministerial behaviour into the spotlight...
The incident happened on 28 February following the first day of a vote of no confidence debate relating to the chair of Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, Deputy Geoff Southern – which Deputy Morel said he felt "reflected really poorly on the States Assembly as a whole".
The Commissioner received the complaint on 17 July.
Pictured: The incident happened following the first day of a vote of no confidence debate relating to the chair of Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel, Deputy Geoff Southern.
In her evidence, Deputy Ward said: “Deputy Morel crossed over from the far side of the Chamber, stepped up the aisle to where we were standing, invaded my personal space and just commenced making accusations I felt so intimidated by his closeness and aggressive verbal manner that I thought he was going to hit me as he appeared so cross with me.
“I cannot remember exactly word for word what he said as I just went into survival/de-escalation mode but what I do remember is that he accused me of lying and found it shameful that I didn’t even apologise to the Assembly – as in his opinion there was a pattern to my behaviour of some kind”.
Pictured: The incident took place in the States Chamber following a debate during which Deputy Ward and Deputy Morel had differing views.
Constable Karen Shenton-Stone was a witness to the exchange.
She said that Deputy Morel was "quite agitated with a raised voice".
"Thinking back, I should have said something, but Kirsten [Morel] is known for having his outbursts," she added.
Constable Andy Jehan also witnessed the exchange.
When asked by the Commissioner if he would describe Deputy Morel’s behaviour as aggressive, he said: “I really think that depends on people's tolerance levels and experience."
Constable Jehan explained: "Was it warm and cuddly? No. Did they disagree? Yes. Did I feel it was aggressive? I wouldn't say that I did.
"Would Kirsten have been wise to have said to Barbara the following day, sorry about yesterday? Probably, yes."
Deputy Ward also explained the impact that the incident had on her: “That evening when at home (I live on my own so didn’t have anyone to speak to), I was really upset by this Deputy’s targeted unacceptable behaviour.
"I couldn’t sleep as this threatening behaviour really shook me up and wondered why this Deputy waited till the end of what for me had been a rather mentally traumatic day having had to defend myself publicly after being accused of doing something I hadn’t done."
Pictured: "I was really upset by this Deputy’s targeted unacceptable behaviour," said Deputy Barbara Ward.
She continued: "If the Deputy was not happy with my public response, then he should have spoken up in the States Chamber.
"However, it appears he wanted to target, bully and intimidate me personally for some reason – only Deputy Morel can explain as to why.”
Deputy Morel explained that he was "really, really shocked to receive that complaint".
"I was sitting in my last day of holiday in Mykonos," he said. "That's when my heart fell through the floor, because I was genuinely shocked."
Reflecting on the day of the exchange with Deputy Ward, Deputy Morel said: "...I am passionate about things.
"I'm realising that I need to step back from that passion and that emotion and need to be more rational.
"That's a learning curve. It helps me learn."
Pictured: "I'm realising that I need to step back from that passion and that emotion and need to be more rational," said Deputy Morel.
The Commissioner also asked Deputy Morel if he was know to have outbursts to which he replied: “I think I have been."
He explained: "Depends what you mean by outburst to be honest with you, I can be passionate. I absolutely accept that. I don't believe I've ever got angry with people, in a way where I'm sitting there, swearing at them, blah, blah, blah, banging my hands on the desk.
"...I know I can be passionate. I don't believe I've ever stepped over the line, which says that was completely outrageous behaviour. You should not have done that.
"That's not giving me a green light to be passionate or have outbursts. What it is, I understand that I am always learning, and that I know that I can get caught up in debates or get caught up in discussing questions.”
The Commissioner concluded that Deputy Morel’s behaviour towards Deputy Ward on 28 February 2023 was "inappropriate and should not have occurred".
However, she outlined the fact that Deputy Morel did not intend to upset Deputy Ward, that he appears to understand and reflected on the matter, and that he says he has since made a determined effort to change his behaviour and keep his emotions in check as "mitigating factors".
The Commissioner said that Deputy Ward's complaint illustrates the "importance and benefit of raising complaints of this nature—notwithstanding that it can be difficult for all concerned".
She added: "It empowers members to stand up to what they reasonably perceive to be unacceptable behaviour and, in doing so, provides an impetus to change behaviour and culture in a positive way.
"As seen in this case, reflecting on and becoming more aware of how one’s behaviour can impact others can lead to positive changes in behaviour and in working relationships."
It's not the first time Ministerial behaviour has been in the spotlight.
Back in April, Chief Minister was forced to confirm that there had been "no formal grievances raised, or investigations undertaken, relating to unacceptable behaviour by Ministers or senior civil servants" since the current Government came into office, after the sudden resignation of the former Government CEO, Suzanne Wylie raised concerns about the behaviour of with Ministers and the senior leadership team within Government.
However, Deputy Kristina Moore admitted at the time that she was "aware that from time-to-time relationships can get strained, as they do in any organisation", but added that "these are usually resolved informally, often with the support of the Chief Executive or other senior officers".
She made these comments in a letter dated 6 April — but only made public on 11 April — in response to requests for information from the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel about Mrs Wylie's resignation.
Pictured: The resignation of former Government CEO, Suzanne Wylie, raised questions about the atmosphere and morale within Government.
In the letter, Deputy Moore also said that the "States Employment Board (SEB) has restated its commitment to the values set out within the People Strategy".
She explained: "In terms of positive and constructive working relationships between Ministers and Civil Servants, this is an area I intend to address personally with Ministers and the senior leadership team within Government directly."
The Chief Minister added that the SEB had recently taken part in a workshop to explore how to "apply the values and behaviours of the organisation", which "identified further areas to improve everyone's understanding of creating a safe, constructive work environment".
She said that the Council of Ministers and senior leaders were also due to take part in the workshop process.
Mrs Wylie's resignation also brought the first inklings of a spat between the Chief Minister and Infrastructure Minister Tom Binet into the open.
Deputy Binet broke ranks to suggest that the Chief Minister had not been transparent in her communications around the CEO's departure. The Chief Minister later released a set of correspondence that revealed tensions between her and Deputy Binet stretched as far back as October.
Later in the year, Deputy Binet told States Members during a debate on the controversial creation of a new oversight board for Health that he had been threatened by the Chief Minister that he would be reported to the political behaviour watchdog – the Commissioner for Standards – if he stood up to speak against the motion. Deputy Moore denied that this was a threat.
Constable Andy Jehan also recently resigned from his role as Assistant Chief Minister with an explosive resignation letter, which expressed "severe concerns" about the board, and also fired a broadside at the Health Minister for the apparent lack of "coherent strategy" in Health, as well as her failure to endorse the Government's plans to upgrade the island's health facilities.
Pictured: Constable Jehan stepped down from his role in November, firing a broadside at Health Minister Karen Wilson in his resignation letter.
The lack of Ministerial consensus over the hospital was highlighted in a recent report by Scrutiny, which warned that Ministers' disagreement risked delaying the project even further.
Health-related policy hasn't been the only major area of disagreement.
In October, the Chief Minister took the extraordinary step of publicly expressing her extreme disappointment in her Assistant Minister's decision to throw out a £120m town regeneration plan – leading to questions over how unified Ministers really are.
Pictured: In October, the Chief Minister took the extraordinary step of publicly expressing her extreme disappointment in her Assistant Minister's decision to throw out a £120m town regeneration plan.
Deputy Moore was subsequently accused of breaking the Ministerial Code of Conduct – rules governing how political leaders are expected to behave – by former Planning Committee Chair Alastair Layzell, who helped introduce it.
Responding to the suggestion, Deputy Moore said: "I always seek to ensure that I act in accordance with the code of conduct. My officials would advise me if I was to take any action in breach of that. I do not consider that I had breached the code of conduct and practice and I do not believe any advice to the contrary."
Pictured: Health Minister Karen Wilson and Deputy Geoff Southern were recently found to have "misused the power of their positions".
Just last month, the Health Minister and the politician who was formerly responsible for holding her to account were also found to have breached the Code of Conduct.
The Commissioner for Standards found that Health Minister Karen Wilson and former scrutiny panel Chair Deputy Geoff Southern "misused the power of their positions" and caused reputational damage to fellow panel members by circulating untrue information about them.
The Health Minister was also found to have "missed a number of opportunities to rectify the matter".
Both Deputy Wilson and Deputy Southern were asked to apologise to Deputy Barbara Ward.
Pictured: Tom Binet resigned as Infrastructure Minister and lodged a vote of no confidence earlier this week.
Most recently, Deputy Tom Binet resigned as Infrastructure Minister and officially lodged a vote of no confidence in the Chief Minister – accusing her of a "complete lack of integrity" and "woeful lack of leadership skill".
In an explosive report outlining why he was making an official bid to topple Kristina Moore, Deputy Binet described the past 18 months serving in her Government as a “depressing affair for many close to the centre of power” which had seen many “heady promises... [fail] to materialise”.
The vote of no confidence is set to take place in the next States sitting on 16 January.
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