“I think that there was a lot to be desired. The premise upon which it was established, the COI, I think the documents that they used to conduct this investigation needed to be fact-checked before they started the investigation,” Fraser said at an Opposition-held press briefing recently.

“It came across as if they took whatever was in those documents to be gospel and it was far from being the case,” he added.

According to Fraser, from that standpoint, whomever was being subject to the COI started out at a disadvantage and that should not have been the case.

Fraser’s most recent remarks come as the COI’s report was received weeks ago by Governor John Rankin, but its release to the wider public has been delayed by roughly two months.

Legislator’s remarks represent an about-face

Meanwhile, it was Fraser who said just last year as the COI was ongoing that he felt the Inquiry was constructive in its efforts to improve governance in the BVI and said he was ‘all in’ at the time, regarding his support for the work being done.

“At this stage of my career and my long exposure to what obtains, I am not interested in listening to the same old stories, nor watching the same game over and over again. My belief is that the exercise you are engaged in is to be constructive, and as such, I’m all in. If however, I am to learn different, I’m out,” Fraser said at the time.

The veteran legislator made the remarks in his written position statement on good governance that was submitted to the COI. He chose to submit his position independent of other members of the House of Assembly (HOA).

It is unclear what might have changed to cause Fraser to flip-flop on his beliefs about the COI.