THERE will be no committee of inquiry convened to look into the events surrounding the 2017 St Helier RNLI crew walkout, the Chief Minister has said following a report criticising Ports of Jersey’s and ministers’ handling of the dispute.
The matter was now considered ‘concluded’, according to Deputy Kristina Moore, who has officially published the review carried out by Sir David Calvert-Smith QC.
The review, commissioned by Deputy Moore’s predecessor, John Le Fondré, was leaked online earlier this year.
In 2017, the relationship between the charity and St Helier crew members broke down following the sacking of coxswain Andy Hibbs. He was later reinstated but tensions continued to escalate and came to a head when the RNLI closed the St Helier station and removed the George Sullivan all-weather lifeboat from the Island and took it to Poole, standing down the crew in the process. The Jersey Lifeboat Association, largely composed of former RNLI crew, was formed in the aftermath of the controversy.
The JLA has been suspended from operation since December to allow an investigation to be carried out into a collision in which its vessel, Sir Max Aitken III, hit rocks near Noirmont. That review concluded that Mr Hibbs ‘became distracted’ and ‘lost his spatial awareness’ when he turned around to discuss the situation with the navigator – resulting in two ‘unintentional’ small turns to starboard that went unnoticed. It also claims that, following the collision, coxswain Mr Hibbs ‘declined’ the offer of a breathalyser test after admitting to having ‘two glasses of wine’ with dinner that same evening.
A meeting with Ports of Jersey had been due to take place last month to see whether the JLA could return to the seas but it has not yet taken place.
In his review, Sir David concluded that Ports of Jersey ‘seems to enjoy a status unbefitting a body which supplies crucial services’ and had largely been ‘unwilling to explain its state of knowledge or its actions in connection with the events of 2016-8’.
He added that ministers ‘could perhaps have done more to prevent the consequences of the RNLI action which left the Island without ALB cover for significant periods and has resulted in the current situation of two such lifeboats. The almost complete silence from that quarter to my requests for assistance does not inspire confidence for the future’.
However, in a letter to the Chief Minister, Sir David said that he believed that the ‘conclusions I reached as to the lack of accountability of certain parties in my report would mean that the lessons drawn from them could be learned and acted upon without the need for what would no doubt be a long drawn out and expensive inquiry’.
Deputy Moore said: ‘This review was commissioned by my predecessor and, in the interests of transparency and accountability, I am now publishing it. I accept Sir David’s recommendation not to proceed to a full inquiry. From my perspective, this matter is now concluded.’
In a preface to Sir David’s report, which has now been formally published, the Chief Minister added: ‘What can be concluded, from this report, is that there is clearly mutual benefit in ensuring that the Government of Jersey and arms-length organisations, more generally, work together to consider the areas for improvement which have been highlighted.’
The Island’s Freedom of Information Law does not currently cover arms-length bodies, despite the States Assembly agreeing in 2014 that they should be included under the legislation. Mr Le Fondré, in a separate introductory preface to Sir David’s report, said: ‘This Council of Ministers has reiterated the point and expressly agreed that the FoI law should be extended to Ports of Jersey (in keeping with enacting the decision of the States Assembly back in 2014).
‘Accordingly, direction has been given for legislation to be drafted, (which will need to respect commercial confidentiality), and which will be presented for the new Assembly’s consideration in due course.’
