The long-awaited report from the Comptroller and Auditor General, Chris Swinson, on the Lime Grove fiasco contains serious criticisms of how the proposed purchase of the Green Street roundabout site for a new police station was handled.
It alleges serious breakdowns in communication between States Members and civil servants, accusations of bullying, infighting, delays by the Treasury Minister and evidence that Senator Ozouf wanted Jersey Property Holdings director David Flowers removed, but felt that a ‘golden handshake’ pay-off would not have been ‘politically acceptable’.
Responding to the claims this morning, Senator Ozouf said that he had lost faith in Property Holdings and something had to be done.
He said: ‘It appears to me I am being criticised, not for the first time, for doing the job that the public elected me to do, which is to ensure value for money and proper decision-making. If I am being criticised for that, then that is me doing my job.’
• See today’s JEP for full report
