Minister ‘tried to get friend’s prosecution dropped’
Saturday 29th May 2010, 3:00PM BST.
Housing Minister Terry Le Main
HOUSING Minister Terry Le Main was heavily criticised in the Royal Court yesterday for allegedly interfering in the prosecution of a property developer he had been friends with for years.
His actions were described as ‘inappropriate’ and ‘a source of considerable concern’. Senator Le Main sent a number of letters to the Attorney General calling for a charge against his longstanding friend Francis Venton to be dropped, the court was told.
The charge, which was later admitted by 56-year-old Venton, related to a breach of the housing law.
Venton, a former civil servant, admitted allowing an unqualified couple to live in an A-H qualified property in St Brelade owned by him between 15 April 2006 and 31 January 2008. He was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,500.
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resign now Terry you are a disgrace!
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He has got to walk surely! has the man no shame.He is a minister after all.
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When any elections come around, will people remember this and other shameful and inappropriate behaviour or continue to vote for the “old boys network” that serves to further themselves and friends over any sense of justice, fair play and integrity?
As ever in Jersey, what you see or find out is usually only the tip of the iceberg. Senator Le Main has shown breathtaking arrogance at any attempts to moderate his behaviour and he must believe himself to be “bulletproof”. Lets arm the people of Jersey with armour piercing rounds and get rid of him with a vote of no confidence or referendum to disqualify him.
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Shameful! but no different to Frank Walker trying to influence a planning decision for a mate….
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Wake up and smell the coffee folks! Senator Perchard was “sacrificed” for the good of the establishment, whilst Senator Le Main is so firmly entrenched that bleatings from the public will fall on deaf ears as usual.
And forget any noble gestures. That is not his style sadly.
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They need to get rid of both Terry’s! The Health debacle last week and now ‘problems’ in Housing. What next?
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His actions were “inappropriate”?
Even if the Police and the AG have neither the will or the bottle to pursue a criminal charge for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, there is always Malfeasance in Public Office which is a serious offence in its own right. It is time that Law Enforcement and the Judiciary in this Island did its job properly and demonstrated its supposed impartiality by proving that nobody is above the Law. Failure to prosecute Le Main will send a clear message to the public that Jersey is a two tier society where the Law only applies to those of us living in the bottom tier.
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When will our “Glorious Leader” show the leadership, courage and integrity Jersey wants and needs by removing Terry Le Main from the council of ministers? Under his watch, the islands housing stock has sunk into disrepair and squalor to a level that a lot of councils in the UK would be deeply ashamed of.
If the Senator put as much effort into his job as trying to get his (property developer) friends off charges of breaking housing laws, then Jersey would be a much better place with fewer social problems. In terms of performance alone he should go, but this latest incident must be seen as the final nail in the coffin.
So Senator Le Suer, restore public confidence in the Council of Ministers and your own office by relieving Terry Le Main of his post and replacing him with someone of integrity and ability.
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Let’s get things straight here. This is not the crime of the year here. What Terry has done is nothing more or less than anyone is doing in positions such as this and it is going on throughout the states and many high pofile people. Yes it is wrong and I am sure he will get his knuckles rapped but come on look at the work he has done on housing by turning it around. Would you want a Southern in charge! I don’t think so
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Oh Terry ! why do you persistantly get involved in other peoples problems without knowing the true facts? I know you mean well but why put yourself at risk by keep on defending people that you take on face value?
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Senator this, senator that. It’s like Star Wars only without Yoda (which frankly is a shame). They are all the same
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How does the saying go? ‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know….?’
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Why is this man still in office?? He really does think that he is a law unto himself!!
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This was nothing more than naivety on behalf of the Minister. You are allowed to make representation of someone’s character before Court but the Minister should have known better than to write directly to the AG.
The fact this has come to light shows there is no cover up in our Judicial System despite what a certain self imposed exiled politician and some commentators on this site might say, and helps refute the Old Boys network conspiracy.
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If T Le M had any integrity he would resign immediately for this totally inappropriate action given his position and his personal friendship with Mr Venton.
First the data protection saga now this,whatever happened to integrity within the States and trying remaining neutral where a conflict of interest may occur.
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Kate #9. “Let’s get things straight here. This is not the crime of the year here”
You are embarrassing yourself here Kate in your attempt to defend the indefensible. It should not be the Chief Minister investigating this, it should be the police!
What Le Main has done is far more serious than, for instance, failing to renew a driving licence. Oh, and before you bang on about data protection breaches, I seem to recall Le Main doing that too and not being prosecuted.
One law for some, and another for the rest of us I suppose.
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If nothing happens and this is swept under yet another carpet then surely we’re all going to realise that the rule of law & public opinion mean nothing to the com. In the UK, far lesser indiscretions, mistakes and offenses have meant the immediate removal of a politician. Why is Jersey’s government so set against following best practices from other places without spending huge amounts on consultants when common sense is free?
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As Kate and rogermarkwayne have pointed out, this was silly, but not actually a hanging offence, and pretty typical of a man whose heart has always been bigger than his brain.
Yes, he will probably have to resign as Housing Minister, because of the public perception of a conflict of interest – although I believe the Housing Minister has for some time now in fact had no direct responsibility for the enforcement of Housing Law.
The level of expressed outrage and triumphant delight in other posts, however, suggests that those posters would never want a politician to write a letter of support for them if they were in trouble, and would never themselves dream of writing a letter of support for anyone else.
Nice to see the good old Jersey tradition of kicking a man when he’s down, still alive and well…
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Terry Le Main may have many traits..but Naievity is definitely not one of them ,far from it ..so to profer that in mitigation..is truly laughable. But the question we all require answers for is, If a case ten times worse,to use his own words was.. let off…then we definitely need to know who and when….come on investigative journalists..let’s be having you.
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Proves the conspiracy theory wrong – a member of the council of ministers has been called to publicly account for his actions at the first hurdle. So much for an all power full oligarchy controlling the press and judicial system.
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16 Frosty -
It is a matter for the Chief Minister to inquire into; it isn’t a police matter, because it isn’t a criminal offence, and therefore can’t reasonably be compared with failure to renew a driving licence. As yet, all we have is an allegation of impropriety, which you seem eager to pre-judge in advance of any investigation – no axe to grind there, obviously.
Other than those minor details, your post was pretty well spot-on.
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Good old Jersey politics, it never changes. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours!!
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20 Sanity..I disagree with your premise and it proves nothing more than the current climate of frantic back peddling as seen with Cameron…who seized upon the Telegraph revelations,and now so soon after can’t be seen to do the under the carpet routine..The COM know they are crumbling before our eyes and are trying hard to establish some credibility…Horse,gate, too late and bolted it seems…those who sail close to the wind are well known to the old hands I’m afraid…we are not so easily schmoozed.
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Nice bit of Jersey cronyism. Leg up anyone?
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Lets get away from personality politics, and try and use objectivity. If Terry Le Main wrote to the AG and it was only a character reference then this is reasonable. If the letter ( using his position as Minister for housing ) clearly asks the Attorney General to drop the charges, then as a member of the Government he has gone way to far and is guilty of interfering in the judicial process.
Should this be the case then there is another concern. The prosecution lawyer mentioned this letter thus dragging it out into the public arena.
It would be interesting to know why the Attorney General personally did not take action prior to the outing by the lawyer, if indeed he asked for charges to be dropped.
Terry Le Main has never struck me as naïve, the opposite in fact, the judiciary must always be separate from politics and politicians.
Davey West
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Joker at 14; the matter does not prove anything regarding the judiciary; Nothing to do with judicial covers up at all. The criticism of the senator came from counsel in the case. The disclosure of the letters came from counsel. The “judiciary” could not have covered this one up even if it had wanted to.
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20 Sanity
How do you keep people quiet in a situation like this? Throw them a bone, something disposable, something they can chew on to distract them…
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Silly, silly man!
I think he was doing a good job with Housing, the many that came before him failed miserably!
Such a silly action and one that’s left room for someone less competent to do the job!
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It is the very stupidity of the lie that he told that amazes me.
He denied a connection with Mr Venton despite the fact that he has been printing all his election material for thirty years.
One of the good things about the ministerial system is that if things go wrong there are less places to hide and my guess is that Terry le Sueur’s administration will be worse than limping by November 2011.
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Jerry 21
You say that it is not a police matter. I would be interested to know how you come to that conclusion.
According to the article, Senator Le Main sent a number of letters to the AG calling for a charge against his friend to be dropped.
The definition of the offence of attempting to pervert the course of justice includes ‘conduct intended to obstruct initiation, progress or outcome of criminal proceedings.’
The article suggests that the Senator was applying political and personal pressure on the AG to obstruct the initiation, progress or outcome of criminal proceedings against his friend. By far a worse allegation than failing to renew a driving licence.
We therefore have an allegation of impropriety, which, contrary to your suggestion, I am not judging simply by believing that it should be a police matter. If, after an investigation, the police were to decide that no offence had occurred than so be it.
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Seriouser #26
I think you’ve just agreed my point. Those who would believe we live in a totalitarian state say cover up is possible and is rife.
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No Frosty this is not a police matter but allegedly driving around without a valid driving licence is.At least this states member has stayed around to face the music.
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#16 and 30 -
So which is it, Frosty?
“What Le Main has done is far more serious than, for instance, failing to renew a driving licence” (16) or
“I am not judging simply by believing that it should be a police matter” ?
By all means be gleefully vindictive, if that’s what floats your boat – but puh-lease don’t pretend it’s just objective comment, and claim you haven’t already reached your verdict on the case, when post 16 shows clearly that you have.
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Well well Jerry, excuse me for typing quickly.
It should, of course, have read “What Le Main (is alleged to have) done is far more serious than, for instance, failing to renew a driving licence”; namely, prima facie conduct intended to obstruct initiation, progress or outcome of criminal proceedings.’and therefore, as it is an allegation of criminal conduct, it should be a police matter Kate.
I suspect Kate and Jerry would have been calling for immediate police action if it happened to be certain other individual(s) who had, as it is alleged here, tried to interfere with judicial process.
As for ‘reaching a verdict’ it would seem the pot is calling the kettle here Jerry as you have similarly judged the matter – #21 “it isn’t a police matter / it isn’t a criminal offence”.
Unless you have seen the numerous letters and are also a lawyer I would suggest that you are in no better position than I am to decide that.
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The article in the post ,presumably designed to assuage the situation..has only served to highlight the obvious,typical Jersey ploy.It is said “When you find yourself in a hole….stop digging”
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