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Turks and Caicos Islands

It is a delight, Mr. Sheridan, to speak under your chairmanship. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland) on securing this debate. It has been a long time since the Turks and Caicos Islands have been debated, which is a fault of the House. I also congratulate him on his role in creating the all-party group and sustaining it over the years. The House will lose a doughty politician when he leaves it at the general election, because I understand that he will not stand again. We shall miss him. I had many battles with him over an elected House of Lords. Unlike my hon. Friend, I have never visited the Turks and Caicos Islands. I understand that they are very beautiful. For several years, they enjoyed a booming tourism industry. Enormous hotels, vast residences, and beautiful and luxurious beach clubs were built, and things blossomed. Unfortunately, at the same time so did corruption, but until the special investigation and prosecution team under Helen Garlick has completed its work, we cannot be sure of the precise contours or the extent of that corruption in TCI. Hon. Members know that on 10 July 2008, in response to an increasing number of complaints about corruption involving senior politicians in TCI, the then Governor appointed Sir Robin Auld to inquire into""corruption or other serious dishonesty in relation to past and present elected members of the TCI House of Assembly."" Following Sir Robin's report, we decided to implement his recommendations that ministerial government be suspended, that the House of Assembly be dissolved, and that provision be made for criminal and civil trial by a judge alone in certain cases. Those recommendations were implemented on 14 August 2009, as my hon. Friend adumbrated. We did not take that step lightly, for the reasons that he suggested. We have no desire to return to colonial rule. Sir Robin's report is impressive, and extremely damning. He outlines what can only be called a perfect storm of political intrigue and corruption. He cites the""considerable discretionary power in…allocation of Crown Land"," and in planning and the award of Government contracts and belonger status. I must correct my hon. Friend, because not everyone who lives on the islands is a belonger—far from it. In fact, that is one of the problems. Sir Robin also refers to the booming tourism industry, which caused land to become valuable, but the supply of that land is limited. In addition, he refers to considerable exposure of Ministers to conflicts between public duty and their private and personal interests, and widespread disregard of the constitutional obligation to declare financial interests. As Sir Robin said in his report:""The all pervading impact of politics on people's lives and livelihoods in the TCI and the seemingly imperceptible line between political payments or donations on the one hand and bribes on the other has become a canker in the economic and social life of the TCI."" A key element of that vicious circle is the status of belongership, which stems from birth or personal connection with TCI through a spouse or descent, or from the Governor, acting on the advice of the Cabinet, who can hand out belongership. With belongership comes the right to vote—in fact, only 7,000 of the 36,000 inhabitants have that right—the right to sit on a jury, the right to purchase Crown land at a substantial discount, and the right to sell that land on at a substantial advantage. The UK 2007 national audit report indicated widespread departures from competitive tendering in the TCI, which is a matter of substantial concern, and there have been many serious allegations. I will read briefly from the commission of inquiry's report. Sir Robin cites""major contracts for services, such as that made in November 2006 with Southern Health Care Network for referral of TCI Islanders for overseas medical treatment…major construction contracts, for example…PFI contracts awarded to Johnston International for two new TCI hospitals, said to have been overpriced and awarded without any or any appropriate tender process, with an initial budget of $40 million and costs to date of $125 million…major road-building and other public works contracts, for example…the Lower Bight Road. Providenciales, said to have been contracted to Johnston International"—" again—""at a significantly higher price than some other bidders had offered, and built, it is said, to a low standard; and…road works in North and Little Caicos, contracted to Herzog"." He also cites the sale by Ministers of property to the Government at above the market rate, and there is a whole series of cases in which offices have been rented on behalf of the Government, again at above the market rate.