WATCH: "I have done nothing wrong"

Wednesday 22 September 2021

Guernsey’s Chief Minister urged individuals that have been “making comments” about him to “crawl back under their stones” as part of an impassioned impromptu speech, in which he listed allegations made against him, and strenuously denied being gay.

During the extraordinary intervention, Deputy Peter Ferbrache claimed he had been accused of being corrupt, bullying the island’s Public Health Director, and “fancifying” details of his recent self-isolation.

The heated comments were broadcast live on the States of Guernsey's Facebook page, in a press conference viewed by more than 10,000 people about changes to the island's covid travel regime.

They followed a question from a journalist, who asked whether Deputy Ferbrache was confident there were no leaks in the Civil Contingencies Authority (CCA), the island’s emergency decision-making authority, which he chairs. It was a direct response to the sentencing of two people on Monday for breaking self-isolation and their link to ‘Farmhousegate’.

To this, the Chief Minister simply responded “yes” before launching into a diatribe about “criticism” he has allegedly faced, and refuting any wrongdoing.

Video: Guernsey's Chief Minister shared a number of allegations made against him and denied being gay in the concluding minutes of the press conference about changes to the island's travel regime.

“I’ve held this position for about 11 months, in that time I’ve been accused of bullying Dr [Nicola] Brink so she would resign and go off to live in South Africa,” said Deputy Ferbrache, referring to a past media briefing where he contested “scurrilous” accusations that he was intimidating the Director of Public Health.

He went on to say he had been accused intimidating other members of the CCA, with the aim of getting the borders opened quicker for the sake of his hospitality interests.

“I’ve been accused of lying on a broadcast in relation to Warren Gatland,” he added, citing the now infamous decision to allow the British and Irish Lions coach a special exemption to come to the island without having to isolate.

“I’ve been accused of being corrupt, I’ve been accused of fancifying the fact that I had to self-isolate a week or so previously... It was said that it was matter of convenience.”

Pictured: “There’s been a lot of criticism in relation to me over a period of time,” said Deputy Ferbrache.

Furthermore, in a surprise and unprovoked statement, Deputy Ferbrache discussed his sexuality.

“A person’s sexuality is a matter for themselves but it’s a fact I’m not gay - bear in mind I’ve got children and I’ve got grandchildren," he said.

"There have been images of me, photofits put on, of me having a sexual act [with another man]. All of those are completely despicable."

He concluded by quashing his involvement with the investigation that saw two people sentenced for breaching self-isolation, but alluded to an ongoing investigation that he is currently unable to comment on.

"I have done nothing wrong... There may be another investigation going on in relation to something else, so I can't comment further, until the whether it's the Border Agency or the Police or Law Enforcement are saying their investigations are at an end – I’ve been a lawyer a long time and its improper.

“I would say in relation to all of this, I would hope that there is some common decency out there and I would hope that some people who’ve been making comments would crawl back under their stones.”