GUERNSEY has stopped investigating a possible move to Central European Time.

Chief Minister Lyndon Trott said the Policy Council had decided to defer any further work on the issue pending the outcome of Jersey’s October referendum on the subject.  ‘We want to see how much support there is in Jersey first before we put any more time into it.’

That decision has been slammed by former deputy Peter Roffey.  At the February States meeting he placed a requete for the States to agree in principle to make the move to CET by March next year.

The requete did not carry but was superseded by an amendment by the then-chief minister, Mike Torode, that directed the Policy Council to explore the possibility of moving time zones and to report back to the States by February 2009.

‘It’s certainly a breach of the promise that the former chief minister gave to the House,’ said Mr Roffey. ‘He said it was not a delaying motion and that work could begin on it in weeks. Now we are talking about a nine-month delay. But, more importantly, it should be an issue that the islands are looking at together.’