Deputy considers resigning after removal from board

A deputy who was removed from the Police Complaints Oversight Board says he is considering standing down from the States of Guernsey.

Deputy Rob Curgenven was kicked off the board by the Home Affairs Committee on Monday, following what the committee alleged were posts he made about police conduct.

President of the Home Affairs Committee Deputy Marc Leadbeater said the decision was made due to the confidential information the board handled.

Curgenven said there was still a question mark over whether or not he would continue to be a member of the States. He said that, to the best of his knowledge, he "didn't breach the terms" of engagement of the board by commenting on live police matters.

The Police Complaints Oversight board is a sub-committee of Home Affairs.

The Home Affairs Committee told Curgenven in an email: "The committee discussed with concern recent activity on social media including, but not exclusively, your video in respect of the formal discontinuation of an investigation into historical sexual offensives."

In a statement following the dismissal of Curgenven from the group, Leadbeater said: "I brought this group together specifically to involve a wide range of views, and to ensure we could bring different voices to the table for the review.

"However as part of that it was critical that we all agreed to terms of engagement to maintain the review's integrity."

He also said in a post on social media that Curgenven "knowingly broke the clear terms of engagement" by "commenting on a live case" or police complaint.

"Members of the group are not permitted to do things like speculate or comment on live criminal investigations or currently matter of complaints etc."

Curgenven says there was no mention from Leadbeater about a breach of the terms or commenting on a live police complaint or investigation in the email he had received from Home Affairs.

He added that he, to the best of his knowledge, "didn't breach the terms" and "never commented on a live criminal matter.

"He said: "I have never commented on a live police complaint".

Curgenven will now make a decision on whether he will resign or not, in time for the by-election later this year to replace the former Deputy Le Tocq.

He said he had done that in a bid to save on by-election costs - which were estimated at £75,000 last month after previous estimates of up to £200,000.

Curgenven said "It's the straw that may have broken the camel's back recently.

"This is just one of many and I did take a good hard look in the mirror and think Do I want to do this anymore?

"Is it worth the stick that I get?".

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