My Background
Personal Profile
I'm Guernsey born, 57 years old and a father of four (step father to 2 more), with a passion for public service and securing a prosperous future for all Guernsey residents, whatever their background. I left Elizabeth College in 1986 to attend the University of East Anglia, where I obtained an honors degree in Environmental Sciences.
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On my return to Guernsey I worked as a trainee accountant before moving to become a civil servant. I was the first water quality officer at the States Water Board and then Deputy Sea Fisheries Officer during our prominent fishing dispute, in the mid 1990's, where I was responsible for enforcement at sea, working with the Royal Navy, MAFF and other security agencies in conducting surveillance, patrols and arrests.
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I moved into the legal sector in 1996 and trained as a clerk, converting to a post graduate degree in law, whilst working full time, with a young family and taking the English Bar examinations, followed by the examinations in Guernsey and Caen to become a Guernsey Advocate, in 2001.
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I became a partner at law firm, Babbe Le Pelley Tostevin in 2003 and moved to form a new firm, Bedell Cristin, Guernsey, in 2006. I was the managing partner of that practice, a member of the wider group managing board, across 8 jurisdictions with nearly 600 staff for 10 years, until 2016 when I retired from the partnership to work as a legal consultant, after the sale of our administration business to a private equity firm.​
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During my time as a partner and since, I have acted for and advised many of the Channel Islands' largest businesses, inside and outside the finance sector, as well as providing regulatory advice to multinational companies and foreign governments. I was a member, deputy and then head of the Guernsey Bar Council for several years, between 2006 and 2012.
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My legal specialisation has been in the insurance and reinsurance sectors. I remain a consultant and hold a number of non-executive roles.
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I have and continue to advise several local charities, was a founder of the Arts Commission and until recently the Chairman of Citizens Advice Guernsey. As an advocate, I have provided pro bono advice to many local organisations and charities, including the arts commission, sports commission, youth commission, GFA, Age Concern and others.
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In politics, I was a member of the Public Accounts Committee between 2008 and 2012, and was elected to the States in 2020, becoming treasury representative on P&R and then vice president in 2022-23. I have prepared and presented 4 budgets in that time and led numerous other large and lengthy debates, including those in relation to infrastructure funding and tax reform, as well as amendments and a requete to reduce the number of States members. You can see more detail here.
Outside work and politics, I am a boat owner, a keen photographer and golfer and I shoot in local air rifle leagues and competitions with my son Charlie. I have been a member of many well known Guernsey bands since the late 1980's, playing guitar and bass, singing and have composed music for TV and film.
