Guernsey politician Peter Ferbrache resigns after probe
BBCA politician has resigned after Guernsey's government paid £300,000 to a law firm bearing his name.
Economic Development President Peter Ferbrache said he had "not earned a penny" from law firm Ferbrache and Farrell.
Deputy Ferbrache, an experienced lawyer who works as a consultant for the company, resigned on Wednesday.
The States said it was investigating payments from a body overseen by Deputy Ferbrache's committee.
The situation "could give rise to the perception of a potential conflict of interest", a spokesman for the States' Policy and Resources Committee (P&R) said.
"I know I didn't do anything wrong," he said.
"For people to snipe at me, when I've done nothing wrong, I'm not prepared to take it.
"If they want to do that publicly, in situations where their conduct is not privileged, let them do it."
Who is Peter Ferbrache?
- Guernsey-born lawyer with 35 years' experience, becoming an English barrister at 21
- Practised in England from 1972 before returning to Guernsey in 1980
- Previously served in the States of Guernsey from 1994 to 2000
- Elected to the States in 2016 on a manifesto of encouraging "enterprise and initiative"
- Later elected President of the Economic Development Committee by fellow politicians
- In August he said he would leave his position if the government didn't back his committee's blueprint for the future of the economy.
An internal audit is probing how the £300,000 was paid to Ferbrache and Farrell for work it carried out for the Office of the Public Trustee, overseen by Deputy Ferbrache's committee.
P&R said work which exceeded £20,000 required political approval, adding: "regular financial monitoring picked up the increased spending".
"This information was then acted upon by staff working in the Office of the Committee for Economic Development, and the committee was informed," it said.
The public trustee steps in to act to preserve the interests of beneficiaries of a trust. The current office holder has also resigned, P&R said.
Deputy Ferbrache will remain in post until a replacement is elected when the States meet on 13 December.
The St Peter Port South deputy intends to continue as a backbench politician, but said his time in politics was "limited".
