Advocate Christopher Scholefield said that he is ‘concerned’ about the way perceptions of Jersey will change in Europe after Brexit.
‘I have been concerned, and I remain concerned, about Jersey’s position because I was very happy when there was a European Union of 28 members including the United Kingdom, and Jersey, along with Guernsey, stood alongside without being a member,’ he said.
‘But that is all gone now as there will be, on the one hand, the European Union and, on the other, the British Isles, without the Republic of Ireland of course, which will be outside the Union.
‘We will therefore have lost our unique selling proposition and people, from a European perspective, will tend to consider us exclusively as “British”, in a club whose other members are all part of the United Kingdom, except of course, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.’
This statement follows recent reports in the JEP about a French spy allegedly working in the financial services sector in the Island, after which the States issued a statement reiterating Jersey’s close and productive relations with France.
‘The Island continues to have a productive and mutually-respectful relationship with the national and regional governments of France, and there is no reason that this will change,’ a States press officer said.
However, Advocate Scholefield said that his concerns related more to the perception of the Island’s cultural identity and history more broadly.
‘For me, this [Brexit] is prejudicial to Jersey’s position because, previously, Jersey had a place halfway between Britain and the European and French-speaking world which is only a few kilometres away from here,’ he added.
‘From now on, Jersey is only going to appear as part of the British world and that is something that could be damaging for the Island. I think our island will remain stronger, more interesting and a better place to live in if we remember that we are not just British but that we also have close links with Normandy and France more generally.’
Advocate Scholefield, who is a corporate law partner at Viberts and the chairman of Save Jersey’s Heritage, assumed the role of Jersey’s Honorary French Consul in January, taking over from David Myatt.
On formally announcing the appointment in the Royal Court, Commissioner Sir Michael Birt said: ‘France is our nearest neighbour. No doubt you will be very busy with a variety of issues.’
Advocate Scholefield’s full interview was published in the Channel Islands’ French-language newspaper, Le Rocher which was included in Thursday’s JEP.
