Thursday, 10 December 2009

Senator Syvret is a bully says judge

An independent UK report says Senator Stuart Syvret is a bully.

Christopher Chapman was brought in by the States Employment Board to consider the extent of alleged harassment of states employees and the effect it's had on staff in general.

His conclusion is that Senator Syvret's blog has trespassed 'far beyond legitimate expression of concern' and is a torrent of bullying and intimidation.

On his blog Senator Syvret maintains that some senior civil servants are, 'demonstrably incompetent, idle, over-promoted, unethical, a danger to service clients, utterly ineffectual and provably criminal - and yet completely invulnerable.'

Allegations about individuals range from branding one a 'scum-bucket' to claiming another is a 'child rapist', despite no charges even being brought against them.

Mr Chapman interviewed 15 people here in Jersey for his investigation in to the Senator's conduct.

Employees said they were having difficulty sleeping, concentrating at work, socialising and maintaining normal family life. Some had sought medical advice.

Children have been bullied at school or subjected to a campaign of whispering and two employees been arrested without any charges being laid as a direct result of claims made on the blog.

The report doesn't just point the finger at the Senator.

Mr Chapmand told us: 'I think the surprising thing that I've found is that insufficient attention had been given to assessing the extent of the bullying and harassment and then obviously putting in place the measures that need to be taken to the extent to which the employers can to address it and deal with it.

The judge says the States Employment Board could be found to have condoned Senator Syvret's actions by not responding to or challenging the his behaviour.

Mr Chapman's report points out that the States response so far has been to ignore the problem in the vain hope that eventually it would go away.

The bullying issue will now be referred to the Privileges and Procedures Committee.

Senator Stuart Syvret says everything he's claimed on his blog can be substantiated. He claims that Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur has seen evidence.

Senator Syvret said the Howard League for Penal Reform's publication last year underlined many of the concerns he has expressed.

Senator Syvret is a bully says judge