Alan Maclean’s political career in the States of Jersey began with his election as Deputy for St Helier No. 2 in 2005. He later served as Senator (elected 2008 and 2014) and held key roles as Minister for Economic Development and Treasury Minister before stepping down in 2018. [1, 2, 3]
His tenure was marked by two significant controversies involving public funds:
Failed Film Project
As Economic Development Minister, Maclean authorized a £200,000 grant for a fantasy film titled The Knights of Impossingworth (later known as The Crystal Island). [4, 5]
- The Outcome: The film was never made. Production was suspended in 2014 after the filmmakers ran out of money.
- Due Diligence Failure: It later emerged that the department failed to uncover that the man behind the project had a criminal conviction for theft related to defrauding film investors. [4, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Jersey Innovation Fund (JIF)
Maclean was instrumental in setting up the Jersey Innovation Fund in 2013, which was intended to provide seed funding for start-up businesses. [10, 11, 12, 13]
- Financial Loss: The fund was frozen after a damning report from the Comptroller and Auditor General found it was "not fit for purpose".
- Recovery: Approximately £1.4 million of taxpayers' money was deemed unlikely to be recovered due to inadequate management and poor risk assessment.
- Accountability: Chief Minister Ian Gorst later sent letters to Maclean and Lyndon Farnham expressing "disappointment" in their discharge of ministerial duties regarding the fund's oversight. [13, 14, 15, 16, 17]
[2] https://flow.je
[17] https://www.gov.je
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