$1.2M COI legal defence top-up for future gov’ts as well

Premier Andrew Fahie has expressed that the Cabinet’s decision to agree to an extension in retaining Withers LLP law firm will not just benefit the present government, but future governments as well.

The government recently disclosed through a post-cabinet meeting release that it decided to pump an additional $1.2 million into Withers LLP, the legal firm which represented the government for the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

Furthermore, that disclosure comes as Governor John Rankin announced that he had received the highly anticipated report of the outcome of the COI.

When asked whether that recent deposit was adding to the financial burden on the territory’s coffers, the Premier suggested that this was not the real issue at heart.

“That’s not a question with the COI, that’s a matter of defending your name. The Commission of Inquiry was extended and the lawyers’ tenure has to be extended,” the Premier argued.

“In this day and age everyone has rights, even a country,” Premier Fahie said. “I answer that question every time I come here.”

Meanwhile, the Premier explained that once it is discovered through the report that there are areas that need to be improved, the BVI is willing to improve them, as well as its systems.