A contingent of senior politicians and other officials from the Cayman Islands government have wrapped up talks with their UK counterparts this week
At a dinner held at the House of Lords on Wednesday evening hosted by the Cayman Islands All Party Parliamentary Group (“CIAPPG”), Cayman Islands’ Premier Alden McLaughlin urged UK politicians not to create divisions between the people of the overseas territories and the British government by intervening in affairs that are the devolved responsibility of the elected governments of those territories. He expressed concern about the approach taken by the Foreign Affairs Committee (“FAC”) in its recent report, instead requesting that high-level engagement with MPs and peers continue.
During the trip, the delegation met with a number of noteworthy parliamentary figures and members of the House of Lords to further the territory’s promotional campaign within Westminster. Premier McLaughlin also provided an update to British lawmakers on the state of the Cayman Islands’ economy.
The dinner hosted by Lord Northbrook, a member of the CIAPPG, followed meetings held during the day with Ben Wallace, minister of state for the home office and Ben Merrick, director of the overseas territories department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and included guests from across the UK’s political divide.
The meetings touched on constitutional reform, the FAC report, beneficial ownership registers and the European Union blacklisting process. Although no details of the outcome of the meetings were released, it was subsequently noted that both the UK and the Cayman Islands governments were keen to conclude the constitutional reform discussions and to have the proposed changes debated in the Cayman Islands’ Legislative Assembly later this year.
Premier McLaughlin also met with Sir Jeffery Jowell, QC, who is advising the Cayman Islands government on a range of issues, including constitutional reform and the government’s decision to appeal the recent judgment legalising same-sex marriage In the territory.
