My reference was not to do with appearance

From Deputy Shona Pitman.

I WRITE with regard to an email of mine on which you based an article (JEP, 29 July).

The first point I would make is one expressed to me by constituents and other members of the public. This being, isn’t it strange how such a triviality apparently warrants such extensive coverage, when many propositions that I have brought on important issues such as the constitution; the unnecessary public sector pay freeze; and, indeed, the clearly established benefits in exempting healthy foods from GST are given nothing of the sort?

I would like to consider a few pertinent facts about my reference to Mr Bean: it was directed, quite simply, at what I and many others consider the Home Affairs Minister’s bungled handling of the demonstrably unfair and even questionably illegal suspension of the former Chief Police Officer, Graham Power. Similarly Senator le Marquand’s wholly unjustified attempt to remove members from the ESC/Home Affairs Scrutiny sub-panel recently, simply because they had reached different conclusions based on hard evidence to those of the Minister.

The point is, of course, that Senator Le Marquand is wholly untroubled by my email. We discussed this via email and he is fully aware and accepting of the fact that my reference in no way referred to his appearance.

A further question must be as to why Senator Terry Le Main felt the need to make comment about this? Surely, this couldn’t have anything to do with the

Senator standing in my St Helier district, for Deputy.

Why then, I would also ask, does this trivial email get full-page coverage when my complaint about Senator Le Main having to be reprimanded for his loud snoring during the reduction of Senatorial seats debate was not covered at all?

Why too was it not ever reported when Senator Le Main was required by the Bailiff to withdraw his false accusation that Deputy Southern and I had committed ‘electoral fraud’ when, of course, all our ‘crime’ had actually been was to help a number of disabled and elderly constituents to fill out a registration form to request they could receive a postal vote?

As for the comments attributed to Senator Philip Ozouf – as witnessed by the JEP in the States Chamber, the Treasury Minister sought to give the public the false

impression that I was ‘electioneering’ in having to move back my healthy foods

exemptions debate.

Yet the fact was, as I had told the Senator the day before, I did this purely as a

result of needing to devote time to supporting a close member of my family who had suddenly suffered a stroke. I therefore, could not finish my speech on this proposition.

Yes, just as so many of the public who speak to me in the course of work note: it is, indeed, funny what does and what doesn’t get reported.