Premier: UK must not force law enforcement changes on BVI

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has warned against any attempt by the United Kingdom to impose sweeping law enforcement reforms on the Virgin Islands through an Order in Council, calling such action a form of modern-day colonialism.

Dr Wheatley raised the alarm in the House of Assembly last week after tabling the second volume of the law enforcement review by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). He said a recommendation in the review mirrored earlier proposals in the Commission of Inquiry to strip the territory of democratic control.

“We have a similar recommendation here with the law enforcement review,” he stated. “This suggests that all of these areas should be moved under the ambit of the governor, the unelected governor… That is taking us in the opposite direction.”

The Premier said any attempt to act on the report’s recommendation using an Order in Council from the UK would amount to undoing decades of progress in self-governance.

“Even the recommendation itself is a shame and should be a shame,” Dr Wheatley declared. “Even anyone who even considered that for a moment should be ashamed.”

He strongly rejected any centralisation of control under the governor, especially over key agencies such as Customs, Immigration, the Financial Investigation Agency, and the prison service. “We will not give more responsibility to the governor,” he asserted. “That’s taking us backwards and we should not allow a COI or law enforcement review to take us backwards.”

Dr Wheatley framed the matter as one of human rights and democratic dignity. “We should remove any bastions of colonialism,” he argued. “These section 60 responsibilities for the governor should be devolved to a local elected government.”