ANYONE reading the special Billet d’Etat published today dealing with complaints made against the conduct of Deputy Mike Hadley in relation to the Health and Social Services Department and the row over a report into the island’s wheelchair service will be struck by one thing.

For all the careful wording employed, there is an overwhelming sense from the three-man States Conduct Panel of, ‘why on earth was this matter raised with us?’

There is no doubt that Deputy Hadley was out of order in claiming the department had been dishonest and had lied in its dealings with him. Had he paused for a moment, before firing off emails, he would have realised that there was no evidence to back up the allegations.

In any event, such language is unparliamentary and whatever point he wished to make could have been expressed in a different way.

The wider point, however, is that this was essentially a policy disagreement that got out of hand and the Health minister subsequently acknowledged that the department’s handling of the wheelchair report was misjudged and, as minister, he accepted responsibility and apologised.

To then pursue a code of conduct case against Deputy Hadley was a step too far and, many islanders will feel, helps to bring the process into disrepute.

The panel members said that political members and senior advisers in the department have necessarily to be thick skinned. But the conclusion to be drawn from this is that the HSSD and its chief officer are actually remarkably thin skinned.

They are not, however, alone. One of the features of Guernsey political life is how intolerant of criticism many members are and – as Deputy Hadley’s campaigning might serve to illustrate – reluctant to accept that it might have some validity.

Another aspect of the report into the conduct issue is how the States Assembly and Constitution Committee have cast around for as mild a word as possible to describe Deputy Hadley’s ‘punishment’.

That he is to be cautioned is the clearest indication that this whole investigation was a pointless waste of time.