The British Government will be publishing its White Paper on Anguilla and the other Overseas Territories on Monday, June 25.
This was disclosed by Governor Alistair Harrison at a press conference in the Executive Council Chambers on Wednesday, June 20.
“There will be annexes on all the individual territories,” Mr. Harrison continued. “There has been a very thorough period of consultation involving all of the Overseas Territories and there was a formal contribution obviously from the Government of Anguilla…I think you will find it a very interesting piece of work.
“It very much carries on the policy of the British Government from the last White Paper which was produced by the previous Government in 1999.”
Governor Harrison said there were no radical departures from the previous position set out since then. “They [the British Government] are not looking to change the fundamental constitutional model of the Overseas Territories. They are not thinking, for example, to move to the French model of integration which, I think, neither any of the Overseas Territories nor Britain wants.
“Equally, with the option of independence, always being available, they are not really thinking about making a radical change to the present constitutional set up in Anguilla or anywhere else. Of course there are always important things that can be changed within that model.
“For example, we are not thinking about changing the citizenship status of the Overseas Territories which was the big change announced in 1999. It will continue to be the case where Anguillians will be entitled to British Passports but equally people living in the United Kingdomwill not be automatically entitled to live in Anguilla. That is a matter for the local Government in the issue of residence permits.
“That sort of thing is not going to change; but equally I think there are ways in which the policy…can be developed and carried forward. So you will see important new announcements in the White Paper.”
Another matter on which the Governor commented was crime which he said was undoubtedly the most pressing issue in Anguilla. Governor Harrison, who left the island on Wednesday evening for the United Kingdom, said the Executive Council was having further discussions on crime on Thursday when a number of decisions were ready to be made.
He added that after that Chief Minister, Hubert Hughes, or the Acting Governor, Stanley Reid, would issue a press statement.
The third matter the Governor spoke about was the hurricane season. “Don’t let us forget, with all the things going on in the island, the ever-present threat of hurricanes,” he stated. “It is forecast to be a quiet season, but it is certainly a season which is starting early. We have had the first two named storms before the official start of the season on June 1 and the last time that happened was in 1908…”
He stressed that while it was said to be a quiet season, it could well become an intense one. He cautioned the people of Anguilla not to remain in a state of unpreparedness.
