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PERSONAL STATEMENTS
5. Senator J.L. Perchard will make a personal statement regarding comments made in the States Assembly on 10th March 2009
5.1 Senator J.L. Perchard (The Minister for Health and Social Services):
I wish to make a full and unreserved apology to States Members for using unstatesmanlike language in a private conversation with a Member in the House during the States sitting on 10th March. My comment to a fellow elected representative was undignified and fell short of the standard that the Island rightly expects from its elected representatives. I regret that I did not keep a tighter reign on my personal feelings. In this apology I wish to make 2 further statements; firstly, I wish to make it clear to Members that I did not lie to the House during that sitting and I absolutely reject the allegations made about the precise words that I used at the time. Secondly, comments I directed at a States Member concerning self harm were made last year and outside the Assembly and before I became Minister. These 2 statements are not meant in mitigation., nor as an excuse, but simply to make the record perfectly clear and correct. I expect that many Members may well appreciate the level of provocation that I have, and continue to have to endure, both personally and on behalf of others. I am certain that this is well-understood because many from both within and without this House have been subject to the same levels of provocation and abuse; provocation and abuse that continues unabated and apparently without opportunity for redress. The question that requires a clear and forthright answer is, how are those who are abused and provoked to be protected and permitted to lead their lives subject to the law and protected by the law? To conclude, Members might rightly consider whether I have learned a lesson as to my conduct, or whether such an incident might recur in the future. Members have my assurance that I have indeed learned a great deal from this incident and I trust that they will allow me the opportunity to demonstrate higher standards of demeanour in the future. I wish to reiterate my full and unreserved apology to the House and to the people of Jersey for my part in this unpleasant exchange. I ask, and hope, that my mistake may be forgiven in the fullness of time.
The Deputy Bailiff :
Deputy Higgins will also be making a personal statement regarding comments that he made in the States Assembly on 3rd February 2009.