Political prosecutions dropped amid government shutdown fears

Thursday 17 January 2019

The trial of two politicians accused of failing to declare their election expenses properly has been dropped after it emerged that as many as 45 candidates – including 18 sitting States Members – are also suspected of breaking the law.

The revelation came in a four-page statement released last night by Attorney General Robert MacRae, who concluded that the risk of government paralysis meant it would not be “in the public interest” to prosecute.

Deputies Scott Wickenden and Hugh Raymond, and former St. Helier candidate Bernard Manning, last week learned that they would face trial after being accused of breaching Article 6 of the Public Elections Law, which relates to expenses. 

Had the sitting deputies been found guilty, they would have lost their seats, forcing a by-election. 

Pictured: Any politician found guilty of this offence under the law automatically loses their seat.

But the Attorney General said it emerged on Monday that others may have committed the same offence.

He said that the law only gave candidates 15 days to submit their expenses and that there was no way of extending this.

He said that a total of 28 candidates failed to comply with that deadline – 13 of whom were elected to become politicians.

When given an extended deadline, he said that “most” candidates complied, but “not all” of them. 

On top of this, the Attorney General explained that he learned there may be an extra 17 candidates – five of whom became States Members – whose expenses declarations did not meet the demands of the law. 

Pictured: Attorney General Robert MacRae.

He said these problems were not drawn to the candidates’ attention at the time, but only became apparent when his department inspected the documents this week. 

“Accordingly, one way or another it is possible that up to 45 candidates, 18 of whom were elected, have committed an election offence under Article 6. Those elected unopposed did not need to comply with Article 6. Of those candidates who won a contested election, 17 persons succeeded in complying with the law.” 

However, given that none of the alleged breaches related to overspending, and the risk of a significant number of politicians being expelled from the States, which could lead to a government shutdown, Advocate MacRae decided against bringing legal action. 

He explained: “In these circumstances, and bearing in mind the consequences to good government of investigating and prosecuting these alleged offences, it is not in my view in the public interest to proceed against all these individuals. 

“The States and Government of Jersey would be significantly impaired at an important time for the island.” 

Pictured: The Attorney General warned of governance problems if cases against 18 States Members were to go ahead.

The decision led the Attorney General to conclude that “it would not be right to single out” the three already due to face trial “in circumstances where so many candidates appear to have failed to comply with the provisions of article 6.” 

He added that the Judicial Greffier would not be offering a “period of grace” in future and that he will be “writing to current members of the States in respect of their obligations under Article 6”. 

Advocate Hiren Mistry, who represented Deputies Wickenden and Raymond, welcomed the news. 

He said that his clients were still “digesting the news”, but were “naturally relieved”.

The Advocate continued: “…I am glad that the arguments that I have been making about these prosecutions not being in the public interest have succeeded.  

“This was the right result in the end, however, my clients should not have been put through this process in the first place.”

READ: Click below to read the Attorney General's statement in full...