JERSEY should have ‘nothing to fear’ from the forthcoming UK Treasury Committee inquiry, believes the former Lord Mayor of the City of London.

However, the City’s financial services sector will not go unscathed in the current financial downturn, says Sir Michael Oliver, who was in the Island on Tuesday as guest speaker at a business lunch.

Members of the Treasury Committee are due to visit Jersey on Monday and Tuesday next week, when they will be speaking to senior politicians and key members of the financial services sector.

Their fact-finding visit is part of an ongoing investigation into the role of offshore finance centres in terms of global financial stability and transparency.

Sir Michael, who was Lord Mayor from 2001 to 2002, suggested that the Island could use the visit as a good marketing opportunity, but that transparency was key. ‘You do have tax advantages and there is nothing illegal in looking at your tax rate and adjusting it. Just look at how successful Southern Ireland has been – and they are part of the European Union.’