Crunch meeting today to discuss Ozouf's return?

Thursday 25 May 2017

All Jersey's ministers have been called to a special meeting today, at which it's believed they will discuss whether to reappoint Senator Philip Ozouf.

The meeting is taking place at 10:00 this morning, and is not one of the usual Council of Ministers meetings which always take place on a Wednesday.

Instead, Express sources have suggested that the Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst will canvas opinions from his colleagues as to whether Senator Ozouf should return to the ministerial benches - it is known that there are very strong views either way, with some ministers privately talking about resignation if he returns. 

Senator Ozouf resigned as an Assistant Minister responsible for innovation earlier this year following the publication of a damning report into the Innovation Fund, which had racked up £1.4million in overdue loan repayments to companies it supported, with one those companies going into liquidation. 

A later report into who was politically responsible revealed that the main issue was that no one really knew the answer to that question - although ministers and officers believed it was Senator Ozouf, as did he, the necessary legal formalities weren't actually put in place until April 2016, right at the end of critical period. 

Following the publication of that report, Senator Gorst published a statement exonerating Senator Ozouf, and censuring Senators Maclean and Farnham instead, as Economic Development Ministers (at different times).

His interpretation of the report angered some ministers and States Members who argued it wasn't the exoneration he was portraying it as. 

Speaking to the IoD this week, Senator Ozouf confirmed he wanted to return to the ministerial benches, so that they could benefit from his experience. 

It is known that his colleagues are deeply split on that decision - some see him as an experienced, eloquent, knowledgable and active advocate of Jersey; others believe he intrudes into areas which aren't his responsibility, and is a divisive figure who sows discord. 

The situation is complicated by the drama in the States this week, when the Treasury Minister was forced to withdraw the funding proposals for the hospital, which he agreed with, at the last minute, allegedly because Senator Ozouf had put an alternative plan on the table. Senator Ozouf denies he had anything to do with it.