CHIEF Minister Mike Torode has been forced to fend off claims he misled the States over a long-awaited Education management review. A requete calling for the independent review has been on hold for the past year after signatories were assured by the Policy Council that action would be taken.

During the States debate, Deputy Torode accused the requete’s leader, Jean Pritchard, of blocking one of the people approached to do it.

But she hit back outside the chamber, accusing the chief minister of trying to deflect the blame.

Deputy Torode was unwilling to be drawn into a row.

Questioned by the Guernsey Press afterwards, Deputy Torode said: ‘What I said in the States is the truth of the matter, no more, no less.’

Deputy Pritchard was furious with the chief minister’s comments in debate.

‘I find that accusation frustrating when it’s due to the lack of action by the Policy Council in doing anything about the review and then deflecting the criticism against the Policy Council with comments that were wholly inaccurate,’ said Deputy Pritchard.

Bailiff Geoffrey Rowland had stepped in after the chief minister had spoken in the debate in order to halt more talk on the requete, which was sparked by the sacking of Jane Stephens as Le Rondin headteacher last year. He said that it was not relevant.

‘I was frustrated that I could not address ‘what was’ being said by the chief minister,’ said Deputy Pritchard.

‘Unfortunately, I have to resort to speaking to the media in order to put the record straight.’

In the States Deputy Torode said that one body had initially been approached to do the review, but the cost was unacceptable. Another individual academic expert was then brought in to see what he could do.

Deputy Pritchard and deputy Education minister Wendy Morgan had met this man.

Deputy Torode said in the States: ‘I don’t think he was back on the airline again when Deputy Pritchard wrote to the chief executive and said ﾓI’m not prepared to accept this man as the person to conduct this investigationﾔ. There seemed little point in proceeding with this very professional person in that way.’

But Deputy Pritchard refuted the allegation.

She said that she had been concerned that the expert wanted to take the review in a direction she thought did not fit the thrust of the requete.

‘Because I had not been dealing with anyone politically on the Policy Council at this stage, I emailed the ‘chief executive’ Mike Brown saying thank you, but I really shouldn’t be dealing with a civil servant now, it’s time to talk at a political level,’ said Deputy Pritchard.

Emails bounced back and forth between Deputy Pritchard and Deputy Torode.

Eventually deputies Peter Sirett and Geoff Mahy were selected to represent the Policy Council in a meeting with her and two other requete signatories, deputies Sam Maindonald and Jonathan Le Tocq.

They met once and then the signatories met deputies Torode and Stuart Falla and HM Procureur Nik van Leuven.

‘I don’t know what’s happened to the person who was going to do the review and we discussed the requete and in the end we decided to keep it in, although they were supposed to be talking to Education,’ said Deputy Pritchard.

There had been no contact on the review since 4 July. Deputy Morgan told the States that the Education board did not know what would happen next and the situation was demoralising for staff. Deputy Pritchard agreed that the issue needed to be resolved.

‘Deputy Morgan raised the problems of dragging on with this. I couldn’t agree more,’ she said.

‘We’ve been reasonable people in hoping that some action would happen and it’s become excuse after excuse.’

Deputy Torode had told the House that a third avenue for the review was now being explored which would entail a team of two.