Ladislaus accuses Feetham of ‘knee-jerk politics’ over sex offender policy

GSD Shadow Health and Justice Minister Joelle Ladislaus has accused the Minister for Justice, Nigel Feetham, of making “knee-jerk” policy announcements on convicted sex offenders during her budget address in Parliament, stating that recent proposals appeared reactive rather than the product of careful consideration.

Ms Ladislaus said the most striking example of what she described as “shoot from the hip policy decisions” was Mr Feetham's recent social media announcements on chemical castration and changes to bail provisions for convicted sex offenders awaiting sentencing.

She stressed there was no disagreement over the need to protect the public from sex offenders.

"And let's make no mistake, they should be dealt with," she said.

"We live in a very small place, and we must do everything possible to keep our children and our most vulnerable safe."

"We simply have a different view as to the approach that should be taken to achieve that."

Ms Ladislaus said Mr Feetham had previously invited her to discuss the Prison (Amendment) Bill 2026, describing the meeting as an example of constructive cross-party engagement.

She said the Opposition had offered its support for measures designed to strengthen protection for vulnerable people and would back the prison amendments when they came before Parliament.

But she questioned why the Government had subsequently announced further policy proposals on social media without first seeking wider advice.

"I was taken aback, although not surprised, when the Minister for Justice begun to make what looked like knee-jerk announcements as to policy in such a sensitive area, without first having taken advice or considered the ramifications," she said.

Ms Ladislaus suggested the timing of the announcements, which followed the conclusion of high-profile sex offender trials in the Supreme Court, indicated they were reactive.

She added that the Government should instead have considered such policies alongside reforms to the Prison Act, which are intended to keep convicted sex offenders in custody for longer before becoming eligible for parole.

The GSD's position, she said, remained the one set out in its 2023 election manifesto, including the introduction of local sentencing guidelines providing for tougher sentences for sex offenders and offences that most affect Gibraltar.

Turning to policing, Ms Ladislaus was “relieved” to see an increase in the Royal Gibraltar Police budget after what she said had been eight years of largely unchanged funding, but questioned why the increase had only arrived "at the eleventh hour" ahead of the provisional implementation of the UK-EU treaty.

She said the Government had known for some time that changes arising from the treaty would require additional resources for law enforcement agencies.

"The Government spin machine was working at full capacity back in January of this year," she said, referring to comparisons made between current and previous levels of RGP funding.

Ms Ladislaus also criticised the lack of progress on a new police station, stating the Government's manifesto commitment remained unfulfilled.

She recalled that the 2023 manifesto contained an artist's impression of a new station at Rooke, but said ministers later indicated they were considering refurbishing and extending New Mole House instead.

"We're now almost three years on from that beautiful artist's impression from 2023, and the unequivocal promises of 2019, and the new police station remains nothing more than a picture in a story book," she said.

Looking ahead to the provisional application of the treaty this week, Ms Ladislaus questioned whether Customs and the Borders and Coastguard Agency had received sufficient notice and training to undertake their expanded responsibilities once the frontier fence is removed.

She said that providing new vehicles alone would not be enough if officers had not received comprehensive operational training.

Moving to healthcare, Ms Ladislaus accused the Minister for Health, Gemma Arias-Vasquez, of misrepresenting issues within the Gibraltar Health Authority.

She focused on concerns raised by staff in the Critical Care Unit, saying whistleblowing complaints had been incorrectly characterised as grievances.

"It’s incredible for the Minister to have said that those complaints, made in good faith, by staff who were concerned that the situation could impact patient safety, were raised as part of a grievance process and were not whistleblowing," she said.

Ms Ladislaus also challenged Mrs Arias-Vasquez’s assertion that there had been no whistleblowing complaints during the period in question and questioned statements about progress made in implementing recommendations arising from a review of the unit.