JEP columnist Peter Body, who is the editor of Business Brief magazine, looks at the reaction of PR companies to the UK government debate which centred on the role of offshore finance centres last week, and goes on to ask how good the Island is at fighting its corner.

‘There is also still a reluctance to shout too loudly or fight our corner more aggressively. This is probably a hangover from the days when the Island’s policy was to keep a low profile, not to rock the boat or, to mix metaphors, put our heads above the parapet. We now have to do quite the opposite if we want to survive and prosper as a finance centre.

‘The setting up of an office in Brussels should help this process, although we don’t have any details of what this office will actually do.

We know that it will monitor developments in the EU and check for impending legislation that could have an impact on Jersey (and Guernsey). It will also probably try to lobby for changes to that legislation to make it more palatable to the islands. After all, it appears that the impetus for the Brussels office was the much-feared alternative investment fund managers directive.

So the Channel Islands Brussels office will no doubt include some lawyers who know their way around the EU and who will be able to warn us of anything that could adversely affect the islands.

But in view of the need to raise the profile of the islands and to get our message across globally, let’s hope that the office also has people dedicated to improving our image and understanding throughout the EU. It’s all very well convincing a few Westminster MPs, but if we want to play internationally, we have to think internationally.

We can all welcome the comments at Westminster, but I’ll be much more impressed when I hear similar comments from Brussels, Berlin or Washington. The Island has worked very hard on ensuring that we have a very good message to tell. Now we have to tell it, and not just in Westminster.’

• Read the full column in today’s JEP