Press Statement.

For those of you who missed Home Affairs Minister, Senator Ian Le Marquand's disgraceful outburst in the States today, it will be online later tonight on thejerseywayblogspot.

In the meantime, ILM's disgraceful outburst appears to have prompted "The Friends Of Graham Power" to immediately release a Press Statement (below)

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT HAS BEEN RELEASED BY FRIENDS OF GRAHAM POWER QPM.
THE RETIRING CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE.

It has been released following comments made in the States on Wednesday 7th July 2010 by the Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Ian Le Marquand, who is reported to have confirmed that all disciplinary proceedings against Mr Power are to be abandoned.
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Disciplinary proceedings against Mr Power are to be formally abandoned on 20th July 2010.

Mr Power will retire from the Police Service at midnight on 19th July 2010 after completing over 44 years service as a police officer. He is currently on leave prior to his retirement date.

Once he retires he will no longer be subject to the Chief Officer’s Disciplinary Code. Accordingly all disciplinary proceedings will cease.

Background:

Mr Power was suspended from duty on 12th November 2008 by the former Minister for Home Affairs, Andrew Lewis, who claimed that he had evidence relating to the management of the Historic Abuse Enquiry which justified action under the Disciplinary Code. His suspension was subsequently continued by the current Minister for Home Affairs, Senator Ian Le Marquand.

Mr Brian Moore, Chief Constable of Wiltshire, was appointed in December 2008 to carry out a disciplinary investigation and report to the Minister. Senator Le Marquand originally indicated that he expected Mr Moore to report to him by March 2009. Mr Power cooperated fully with the Disciplinary Investigation and at one stage provided a written statement of over 62,000 words.


· No disciplinary action was taken in 2008.
· No disciplinary action was taken in 2009.
· No disciplinary action was taken in 2010.
· No disciplinary charges were ever brought.
· No disciplinary hearing was ever called.
· The costs of the suspension and disciplinary investigation have been officially confirmed as exceeding one million pounds. In a recent written answer in the States the Minister for Home Affairs said that up to the end of May 2010 the cost of the suspension and disciplinary investigation had reached a total of £1,069,776. This figure does not include the costs of the time of the Civil Servants and Law Officers who have assisted the Minister Costs will continue to rise both in relation to cover for the absence of the Chief Officer, and in connection with the enquiry into the suspension currently being carried out by Mr Brian Napier QC.

The suspension was controversial from the onset. In January 2009 the Connétable of St Helier, Simon Crowcroft, brought a Report and Proposition to the States requesting an independent review of the suspension before further expenditure was committed. The proposition was opposed by Ministers and narrowly defeated. In the summer of 2009 the suspension was the subject of a Judicial Review in the Royal Court, and on regular occasions since 2008 there have been questions and exchanges in the States.

In September 2009 Mr Power successfully applied to a Complaints Board hearing for the Chief Minister to be required to disclose information relating to the creation of the original suspension documents. The subsequent disclosure cast doubt on the truthfulness of the previous accounts given by Ministers of the suspension process.

Following a Report and Proposition from Deputy Bob Hill, the Chief Minister recently agreed to an independent review of the manner in which the original suspension was carried out, with terms of reference not dissimilar to those first proposed by the Connétable of St Helier in January 2009. That review is currently being carried out by Mr Brian Napier QC.

There have also been questions in the States regarding the length and cost of the investigation led by the Chief Constable of Wiltshire, with some specific questions focussed on the scale of expenses claimed for hotels, travel and meals.

At every stage Mr Power has denied any wrong-doing whatsoever in relation to the management of the Historic Abuse Enquiry or any other issue, and said that he would defend himself against any disciplinary action that was brought against him.

Mr Power has made the following statement in relation to the imminent abandonment of disciplinary proceedings:

“I am obviously pleased this unnecessary and unjustified disciplinary enquiry is now to be abandoned. In common with everyone else, I am entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The abandonment of disciplinary proceedings after almost two years means that I can now be regarded as having been exonerated of all allegations. That is not a matter of opinion. It is an accepted principle of justice. In these circumstances it is inevitable that attention will now be focussed on the actions of those responsible for initiating and continuing my suspension. While it would not be appropriate for me to become involved in any political exchange, I remain willing to assist with any legitimate enquiry in respect of the actions of those concerned.”

It is understood Mr Power has already given detailed evidence to the enquiry being conducted by Mr Brian Napier QC and has indicated his willingness to assist Mr Napier further should that be required.

Further details in respect of Mr Power’s retirement:

Mr Power joined the States of Jersey Police in 2000. Prior to that date he held a number of senior positions in the Police Service both in England and Scotland.

Under the States of Jersey regulations relating to pensions and retirement the “Normal Retirement Age” for his position is 60. Mr Power reached that age in June 2007 but agreed to continue serving due to a number of retirements from senior positions in the Force which were taking place around the same time. He is now aged 63 and is therefore more than three years beyond the date on which he was expected to retire.

On the question of his retirement Mr Power has said:

“While I considered retiring in 2007 I felt at the time that it was right I should work beyond my retirement age in order to provide continuity of management for the Force. Since November 2008 I have further postponed my retirement in order to give the Minister for Home Affairs a fair opportunity to resolve the outstanding issues under the Disciplinary Code. I did however become frustrated at the continuing delays, and on a number of occasions in 2009 I issued public statements confirming that if matters were not resolved by 2010, I would delay my retirement no further. In January 2010 I effectively set a deadline by giving the Minister written notice that, come what may, I would retire in July of this year. This allowed the Minister a further 6 months to bring matters to a conclusion. For whatever reason, the Minister did not make effective use of that opportunity and in consequence I will retire on the date notified to the Minister at the start of this year.”

It is understood that Mr Power is retiring to England and has already left the island.

While he prefers not to actively participate in the political exchanges which are likely to follow his retirement, he may wish to consider responding to any direct criticism of his position. Should this occur, media contact details will be made available.