IN today’s Saturday Interview, IDeputy Ian Gorst responds to a number of allegations and assertions made by many of the people we spoke to about the feared regulator.

We were unsure until he sat down to talk to our investigations editor, Orlando Crowcroft, yesterday morning whether he would close ranks and defend the JFSC or seek to take a different course. To his credit, the experienced minister chose that second option and, as a result, there is now some positive light on the horizon.

Deputy Gorst has always been a measured politician of the give-little-away persuasion. As frustrating as it can be for someone looking for clear answers, that is arguably an admirable quality for someone who sets out to be a Jersey statesman, at home and overseas. If you want hard-hitting, punchy comments, he is definitely not your man.

It is with that insight that his comments today need to be read and, for all their circumspection and qualification, they are game-changing.

He says that he recognises the picture painted by many of the people we spoke to and says that bullying is not acceptable in anybody linked to government.

He is supportive of looking at a third-party appeals process and in considering how the scope of the freedom-of-information law could be extended to cover the JFSC. Crucially, he would also like to work with the regulator to examine how it might become a critical friend rather than a sworn enemy of regulated entities. All that shows steps in the right direction.

It would be all too easy to sit here and say that it is all too little too late. But this is about a better future – we cannot change the past.

The JEP is looking to that future, a future where many bodies, including the regulator, can play a more collaborative part in securing the prosperity of a well-regulated island.

That is in all of our interests.

Just as he did after the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, Deputy Gorst has said many of the right things. In essence, he has been open and honest, admitting, in his own way, that things have not been anywhere near as they should have been. But, just like after the care inquiry, these words of contrition are the start of the journey and not theend. We now need action.

The good news is that many of the answers are already out there. For example, in a letter to this newspaper, Leslie Norman, an experienced finance professional who cares deeply about fairness and thesuccess of this island, put forward a very sensible, low-cost solution to one of the issues.

“Might I suggest that one way to approach this would be to invite anyone who has had a Public Statement made against them to have the opportunity to meet an independent arbitrator to have their case reviewed,” he wrote. “This should be done on a totally confidential basis, with the arbitrator having access to the JFSC files and receiving evidence from the complainant.” What a great idea.

Jersey’s prosperity was built on the back of upstanding and proudIslanders with a keen sense of fair play and common sense. Somehow, in this age of faceless bureaucrats and the emergence of a dictatorship of box tickers, we have lost touch with too much of that.

As for the JEP, this is a ceasefire with a hope for peace. Deputy Gorst has indicated that things will change, but we have yet to hear from the regulator. Will the JFSC double down, or will it show the contrition, humility and self-awareness now demanded and acknowledge that it has become a bully and needs to reset? Let’s hope they follow where Deputy Gorst has led.

For our part, we will continue investigating.

Since the publication of the first part of the investigative series, we have been contacted by many more people, including former JFSC employees who have been silenced by compromise agreements and NDAs.

Well, there is somegood news for people in that situation – no one has been taken to court for breaching gagging orders which run so contrary to the public interest of our island. Just imagine the JFSC seeking to take little Mr Smith to court because he dared to tell the truth. We’d make mincemeat of them.

All Island Media, the parent company of the JEP and Bailiwick Express, would even go further and provide a financial indemnity to anybody who wanted to come forward and tell their story, which would protect them from any such court action.So, the JFSC and the minister have time to set out their response in detail to get us back to where we should be. We expect an action plan and a timetable to meet those aims.

But we will continue speaking to people about the issues already touched upon and in relation to other historical allegations, some of which are arguably much more serious than those already covered.

If you want to tell your story, please contact us.

The ball is very much in the JFSC’s court now. It is never too late to do the right thing.

This week has highlighted a couple of other issues in relation to our reporting.

Deputy Gorst has shown real leadership is listening and being open. That is also something that marks out Deputy Tom Binet.

He has finally called out the mess at Health, a vital step on the road to much-needed improvement. If this is the start of a cultural change towards more open, authentic and less remote government, this a good day for Jersey. It could also be the first step towards politicians reconnecting with the Island, healing deep wounds and winning back our trust. Imagine what we could achieve if that happened.

And finally, people have said that we have gone too hard at the JFSC and we should have sought to find a solution in the cosy surrounds of some corporate boardroom. The truth, however, is that it is exactly that closed-door dealing which is so open to abuse that has led to the mess we find ourselves in. It is time Island leaders started doing things the right way as a first step to Jersey becoming the island it could so easily be. That is what the JEP will continue campaigning for.