A St Helier Deputy has emerged unscathed after a complaint about his social media posting led to an investigation by the political behaviour watchdog.
Deputy David Warr, a former Housing Minister who is currently trying to get the Lido to be community-owned, was the subject of a complaint to the Commissioner for Standards.
The complaint, made in August, said that he had made false statements about another States Member’s voting record on LinkedIn. The complaint claimed he had broken two clauses – on personal conduct and maintaining the integrity of the States, respectively:
- Part 3 of the Code of Conduct by publishing a statement which he had apparently been told multiple times was untrue; and
- Part 5 of the Code by making repeated false statements on LinkedIn about a colleague’s voting record.
After Deputy Warr was told his posts could be misconstrued, he edited them.
In a decision made public today, the Commissioner for Standards found that his posts were “not untruthful” and that “he believed his statement to have been true when it was made”.
It was decided that there was no breach of the code of conduct, and the Privileges and Procedures Committee – the group of politicians who decide on the next steps after conduct investigations – said in a report published this morning that no further action was required.
They also agreed with the Commissioner for Standards that there had been no breach of the code of conduct in relation to another complaint dated 5 March 2024 from an individual who claimed they were subjected to “what they considered bullying by their employer, the States Employment Board” when, without warning, they were allegedly asked to resign from their extant post.