BVI already feeling impacts new UK PM! OT Minister visit cancelled

Governor John Rankin.

The British Virgin Islands has officially started to feel the impacts of former UK Prime Minister, Lis Truss’ resignation and the recent appointment of her successor, Rishi Sunak.

Since Sunak’s appointment this week, he has assembled a new UK Cabinet — a move that saw Jesse Norman being taken from his role as Overseas Territories Minister.

Norman was scheduled to visit the BVI and meet with local legislators today, Thursday, October 27 and Friday the 28th.

But in a brief statement this this morning, the Office of the Governor said: “Following the appointment of the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, MP, as Prime Minister, there have been a number of changes to Ministerial portfolios in the UK. The Rt Hon Jesse Norman MP has been appointed as Transport Minister in the UK Department for Transport, therefore, he has had to cancel his visit to the British Virgin Islands to take up this new role.”

“Ministerial appointments are still underway and his successor will be appointed in due course,” the Governor’s Office added.

As one of his last acts as Overseas Territories Minister, Norman moved for extra scrutiny to be placed on Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley’s Cabinet.

Minister Norman instructed Governor John Rankin to draft a report in the next few weeks to assess whether Cabinet is still unjustifiably issuing tender waivers for government contracts.  

Those instructions were outlined in Norman’s response to the governor’s first quarterly review of the ‘Framework for Implementation of the Recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) Report and Other Reforms’.

It is yet to be seen whether those instructions will stand when Norman’s successor is appointed and what changes, if any, the new Overseas Territories Minister will implement to potentially affect the BVI.

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