Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Speaker chides CoI for missing document in lawyer’s bundle

Speaker chides CoI for missing document in lawyer’s bundle

Speaker of the Virgin Islands (VI) House of Assembly (HoA), Hon Julian Willock has chided the United Kingdom (UK) sponsored VI Commission of Inquiry for documents found missing from the bundle supplied to his lawyer.

Hon Willock was at the time appearing before the CoI hearing Day 14 this afternoon, June 18, 2021.

Missing documents


While answering questions before the commission, it was brought to the attention of the Commissioner, Sir Gary R. Hickinbottom QC, that documents being referred to during the hearing was missing for the CoI supplied document bundle to lawyers representing the Speaker.

Silk Legal Attorney, Richard G. Rowe, representing the Speaker at the hearing and in a direct query to the Commissioner, said, “The bundle we received… did not include these documents.”

Attorney Rowe then inquired on whether documents referenced to by CoI Counsel, Bilal Rawat would have supplementary documents or whether it was an omission.

Commissioner refusing to admit error


The Speaker then suggested that it could be that the CoI might have made an error as ‘people make mistakes, all the time, people are late with documents all the time’ as seen in the CoI.

Commissioner Hickenbottom, in response, then indicated to the Speaker, “But some errors are more important than others, this error isn’t important at all…” which promoted a response by the Speaker.

The Speaker, in a striking rebuke, then brought into question how the CoI can have missing documents and make mistakes; however, witnesses cannot.

“I can’t believe you sit there and say that is not important… my lawyer is given a bundle with documents missing, and you don’t see that as important?,” Hon Willock asked the Commissioner.

Commissioner’s views speak ‘Volumes’ – Speaker Willock


He continued, “It speaks volumes about this process Commissioner, and you're going to have to convince this country that you have a transparent process [and] it’s not a fishing exercise.”

“You’re going to have to convince this country that you have a transparent process and it's not a fishing exercise,” the Speaker emphasised.

Hon Willock further chided the CoI and the one-man Commissioner about how it can be right for the Commission to have missing documents, but in the case of witnesses to have missing documents, they are held accountable.

Integrity of CoI bright into question


It should be noted that Commissioner Hickinbottom could not say why the document was missing for the bundle supplied to the lawyers representing the Speaker.

According to Hon Willock, for the CoI Commissioner to not see it as important that his Inquiry is provided bundles with missing documents, it “speaks volumes to transparency, and ethics and integrity.”

Hon Julian Willock was at the time speaking at the CoI hearing Day 14 this afternoon, June 18, 2021.


Silk Legal Attorney Rowe G. Rowe has inquired on whether documents referenced to by CoI Council, Bilal Rawat would have supplementary documents or whether it was an omission from his bundle.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×