The Governor was at the time speaking during an August 10, 2022, press conference alongside Premier Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7).

“The Order in Council is of course in place. It was important in reaching the agreement that the final 49th recommendation of the Commissioner was not brought into effect. And so the government made a commitment to implement the other 48 out of 49 recommendations and, of course, the objective is that they should succeed,” he said.

He said the objective is for the VI government to work constructively with the Governor's team to implement all of the recommendations in the framework document so that the Order in Council will not be required.

Premier Wheatley has indicated that he believes that the order should be withdrawn and that he intends to start a discussion on the subject with the UK on the removal of the order.

Order should be withdrawn- Premier Wheatley

Premier Wheatley has indicated that he believes that the Order should be withdrawn and that he intends to start a discussion on the subject with the UK.

Meanwhile, the Governor reiterated that the objective is that the recommendations are properly implemented and that good governance and reforms are brought into effect to help improve governance for the people of the VI.

The Governor indicated; however, that he is open to discussions on the subject with the Premier and UK government.

“If it's something that the Premier does wish to raise with me and with UK Ministers, then of course we could have discussions on that issue. But let me repeat, the objective here is to succeed in the implementation programme, not to implement the Order in Council but to have success in what we are trying to achieve,” he said.

Many have said the Order in Council is like holding a gun to the VI's head, arguing that it is not reflective of a true partnership.