Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq could be removed from his role on the senior States committee as early as next Wednesday after papers were lodged with the Greffe today for the unprecedented move.
The Policy and Resources Committee has asked the States of Guernsey to terminate Deputy Le Tocq’s membership with immediate effect.
The remaining 39 members of the States of Deliberation will vote on this next week.
The request to remove him from P&R follows Deputy Le Tocq being charged with eight criminal charges including making more than 1,400 indecent images of children, and the possession of “extremely pornographic images”.
He was remanded in custody after his first court appearance on Friday.
He is next due in the Magistrate’s Court in September, before his case is due to be committed to the Royal Court in October.
P&R’s proposition to remove Deputy Le Tocq from the committee is being brought forward under Rule 37(8) of the States’ Rules of Procedure.
This allows a committee to propose the termination of a member’s period of office if their continued membership is “unreasonably hindering the ability of the Committee to fulfil its mandate”.
The committee claims that Deputy Le Tocq’s absence is “detrimentally affecting” its ability to progress an extensive programme of time-critical work and external commitments.
While there are rules to allow the committee to make urgent decisions, P&R says these rule don’t allow for a sustainable solution for a member who is “indefinitely unavailable”.
The committee clarifies that the purpose of the proposition is to address the “practical implications” of Deputy Le Tocq’s prolonged unavailability and does not offer any commentary on the justice process that he now faces.
The committee added that the request to replace him on P&R has the unanimous support of the four remaining members, those being President Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, and Deputies Charles Parkinson, Gavin St Pier, and Steve Falla.
P&R has said that its members’ thoughts continue to be with anyone affected by the news of Deputy Le Tocq’s arrest and subsequent charging.
More to follow…