He now says that the company, which could be worth around £200m, will be safe in States ownership for at least three years.
His decision, which was announced in the States yesterday, follows pressure from a Scrutiny panel and the union representing JT’s 400 staff.
Almost ?500,000 had already been spent on advice and consultants’ fees in respect of the aborted sale.
Formally withdrawing a proposition asking for States in-principle backing to sell the company, which he had already delayed twice, Senator Le Sueur said that he still believed a sale to be the right thing for JT.
‘I have reflected on this over the last two weeks,’ he said, ‘and listened to the views of a significant number of fellow States Members, and I have come to the view that the majority of the Assembly probably believes that, with competition and regulation still relatively new features of the local telecommunications environment, this is not a sensible time to press forward with a debate on the sale of the company.’
