An Alderney States Member has been suspended from sitting in parliament for three days, and has to apologise to colleagues – but says he won’t – amid an ongoing row over a data centre potentially being built in the island.
The Commissioner for Standards, Dr Melissa McCullough has issued two judgments, based on two separate complaints against Alex Snowdon.
Her decision to suspend him for three days means he will miss all of the the scheduled States meetings in Alderney for the rest of this year – on Wednesday 16 September, 14 October, and 9 December – but he will be allowed to continue representing the island in Guernsey, including at a meeting starting at the end of September where Tax Reform proposals affecting Guernsey and Alderney are due to be voted on.
Mr Snowdon told Express that the Code of Conduct complaints process is being used to “gag” him for “raising concerns about this vast project on Alderney”.
The first complaint against Mr Snowdon was made by fellow States of Alderney Member Iain MacFarlane.
He alleged that Mr Snowdon had disclosed confidential information around the potential location of a data centre to a member of the public.
In deciding to suspend him from the States of Alderney for one sitting day, Dr McCullough said Mr Snowdon had also failed to apologise for his actions.
“I have taken into account the deliberate and materially inaccurate nature of the disclosure, Mr Snowdon’s continued position that he was entitled to make it, and the similarity between the conduct established in this investigation and the findings made in my earlier published report concerning communications about the proposed data centre project. I have also taken into account his failure to comply with the earlier remedial sanction. While my findings in this investigation are based solely on the evidence before me, those matters are relevant to the assessment of the sanction necessary to secure future compliance with the Code and maintain public confidence in the standards regime.”
A second complaint against Mr Snowdon was lodged by fellow States of Alderney Member Stuart Clark. His complaint centred around Mr Snowdon’s refusal to apologise and “engage further with the standards process”.
Dr McCullough said she upheld this complaint because “I have found that Mr Snowdon deliberately chose not to cooperate with the standards process established by the States of Alderney and failed to comply with the outcome of that earlier investigation. I have also found that he disclosed matters relating to a live complaint contrary to the confidentiality requirements of the Code. I have additionally found that Mr Snowdon failed in his obligation to uphold the Overarching Principles of Public Life”.
In this case Dr McCullough suspended Mr Snowdon from attending a further two days of States meetings – and she reiterated that he must apologise in writing for the previous breaches, which saw him disclose confidential information relating to the potential future data centre.
Mr Snowdon told Express that he does not intend to apologise and said he maintains serious concerns around the plans for a data centre in Alderney and that he is doing his public duty by raising those concerns.
“The States of Alderney Economic Development Committee received a proposal for hyperscale data centres on Alderney of up to 250 MW in Q3 last year, which is confirmed by the Alderney Civil Service,” he said. “This led to a confidential MoU being signed without public knowledge. Certain States Members then visited sites on Alderney with the company that submitted the proposal.
“The States of Alderney is now undertaking a tender process for data centres on Alderney without any public engagement or input, although they already have a proposal on the table from a data centre company.
“The States have also refused to release the feasibility study into data centres, paid for by the public, which identifies sites in Alderney for major data centres.
“I have continually raised concerns that all of this is being progressed behind closed doors, without openness and transparency. I think the Code of Conduct is being used to try to gag me for raising concerns about this vast project on Alderney.
“We are elected by the public and have a duty of care to consult with them and avoid taking actions which would greatly negatively impact the island in my view. I remain extremely concerned about the current process being undertaken by the States of Alderney for hyperscale data centres on Alderney.”
