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  by pltm
• Mar 05, 2021
• 6

(PLTM) - The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) has sought to clear the air on the recently established Inquiry Response Unit (IRU) of the Hon. Andrew Fahie administration, stating that they are two separate entities.

Addressing the matter via a statement on March 4, 2021, the CoI said, “Sir Gary Hickinbottom is the sole Commissioner. It has been brought to the Commissioner’s attention that recent publicity and information about the BVI Government’s (BVIG) Inquiry Response Unit (IRU) is having a misleading effect resulting in confusion about the IRU’s role and function.”

It continued, “To be clear, the IRU is not part of the independent CoI. It is a unit set up by the BVIG to work in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Chambers with a modest but helpful goal of assisting with the mechanics of producing information requested by the Commission of Government officials.”

The statement informed that the CoI has since penned a letter to the Attorney General to register its concerns on the matter seeking for it to be corrected.

“While the Commissioner welcomes the establishment of the IRU to help implement the BVIG’s expressed policy that all ministries, departments, statutory bodies and Government-owned entities provide appropriate and timely cooperation with the Inquiry, he wants to reassure members of the public, and public officers, that the IRU is wholly separate from the Commission. The Commission is and will remain, entirely independent of the BVIG. Members of the public cannot engage with the Commission through the IRU: if they wish to engage with the Commission, they should contact it directly”

The statement added that the CoI is again inviting anyone who believes they have information that may assist the Inquiry, who has not yet submitted it to the Commission, to submit that information as soon as possible via the secure website portal (www.bvi.public-inquiry.uk).

The CoI was established to probe allegations of corruption, abuse of office or other serious dishonesty and whether those abuses may have taken place amongst public, elected and statutory officials in recent years.

In the meantime, the IRU was set up to ensure full cooperation was given to the CoI and facilitate the process of the investigation being undertaken by the CoI.

During the time of the announcement of the IRU, the government had expressly said that the IRU would function as an independent unit to support the Attorney General’s chambers to ensure that information is provided to the CoI that is auditable and accountable.

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