Sir Robert Phillis led a conference about government communication for all States Members at Highlands College yesterday.
Sir Robert, the former deputy director-general of the BBC and head of ITN, was invited to talk to States Members because the report he published in 2004 for the Blair government revolutionised the UK’s approach to government communication.
That report depicted a three-way breakdown of trust between the public, the media and the government in the wake of the infamous Jo Moore ‘good day to bury bad news’ e-mail on 11 September 2001, and the unprecedented power given to spin doctor Alastair Campbell.
He says the timetabling of official statistics releases and the publication of a Strategic Plan outlining what the States plan to do over the next five years shows that Jersey could be a model of government informing the public about what is going on, and about the public influencing government policy through proper consultation.
