Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Malone blunted again in calls for parallel COI report from Cox

Malone blunted again in calls for parallel COI report from Cox

Calling his determent from discussing a document in the House of Assembly (HOA) a ‘dark day’, Territorial At-Large Representative Carvin Malone was again left to rue a missed opportunity to secure the much-debated but highly elusive Sir Geoffrey Cox report from Withers law firm.
Sir Geoffrey represented the government during the Commission of Inquiry (COI), but an expected report on the inquiry was reportedly delayed by the government because of its apparent prohibitive cost.

For months, Malone has made incessant pleas for the Unity Government to secure the Cox report and make it publicly available, arguing in large part that the report may likely offer an enlightening and much-needed alternative narrative to the Sir Gary Hickinbottom-issued COI report which was issued closely on the heels of former Premier Andrew Fahie’s Florida arrest in April.

But Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has repeatedly indicated that procuring the Cox report may likely cost the territory upwards of $1 million and suggested that it was not on his government’s current list of priorities. Malone’s tireless campaign for the Cox report comes at a time when the BVI continues to wend its way through a myriad of 2017 hurricane recovery projects and other similarly urgent infrastructure undertakings.

In this most recent episode, the Opposition legislator was just breaking stride into a monologue about the importance of Sir Geoffrey’s report, when he was politely interrupted by House Speaker Corine George-Massicote and chided for being off-topic. Legislators were at the time actually debating a motion for the establishment a Special Select Committee to monitor the progress of COI and other reform legislation.

“I take it this motion is in respect to the constitution of the committee in respect of the reform of legislation. So, based on what you’re saying, it doesn’t seem like we’re on topic here,” the Speaker told Malone.

Malone in turn responded: “Well, based on what I’m saying, I think I’m very much on topic because [of] the charge given to this committee and the formation of it and after we reach here, I don’t think we’re coming back to see what their terms of reference will be. Would it?”

Meanwhile, Premier Wheatley offered some intervention on the matter, arguing that the terms of reference according to the resolution, is to ensure continuous follow-up by the House of Assembly on reform legislation pursuant to the framework for implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry Report and other reforms.

Dr Wheatley further noted that there will be no need for legislators to return to discuss any other details, but rather it will just be a matter of the committee doing its work.

“This resolution is on the establishment of this reform committee,” the Premier added, “and I certainly don’t see where some of the issues like Geoffrey Cox’s supposed report or any of that has anything to do with this debate.”

Malone, after once again being encouraged to stick to the topic, urged legislators that there were other areas of reform that were necessary to be discussed which may not have been included in any other report.

“So if we continue to ‘stay inside the 48 recommendations by the Commission of Inquiry and not let in any other conversation, I would say that we’re on a dark day,” Malone said, “and as one member had said, even your shadow run away from you on a dark day.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×