Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Willock declines to boot judge from court case despite accusations

Willock declines to boot judge from court case despite accusations

House of Assembly (HOA) Speaker, Julian Willock and his legal team has declined to file an application for Justice Adrian Jack to recuse himself in the matter of a now aborted court injunction against attorneys for the Commission of Inquiry (COI).

This is despite an article appearing on several local media outlets — including the Speaker’s own news website, Virgin Islands News Online (VINO) — claiming that the judge had interfered in the BVI’s legislature by questioning the funding of the Speaker’s legal defence.

Among other things, Justice Jack had instructed the Speaker to sign an affidavit giving details about who in the government agreed to pay his legal fees.

When the matter came up for hearing yesterday, September 28, Justice Jack asked the Speaker’s attorney, Daniel Fligelstone Davies, whether the Speaker was going to file an application for recusal.

Fligelstone Davies said he was not sure where the article originated from and insisted that it did not originate from him (Davies), therefore he was not inclined to file an application for recusal.

Notably, the media coverage on his client’s accusations against Justice Jack originated from a public opening statement Speaker Willock delivered to HOA last Wednesday, September 22.

Fees skyrocket for COI attorneys


As for the actual court hearing about the flopped injunction case, the court was told that the legal fees for attorneys representing the COI’s lawyers have risen significantly since first being disclosed less than a month ago.

Attorney Andrew Sutcliffe, who appeared for the defendants in the COI, said the legal fees for Withers Law firm now stand at $115,348.50.

Sutcliffe said the Speaker’s injunction application was misconceived in the first instance and was later withdrawn after an enormous amount of work was done in preparation of the defence of the COI’s attorneys.

Fiona Forbes-Vanterpool, who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Chambers, said her office will not be seeking further costs in the matter.

Forbes-Vanterpool contended that the contract through which Willock engaged the AG‘s chambers did not apply in regard to the injunction that was filed against the COI’s attorneys, therefore the AG was not responsible for Willock’s legal fees.

Justice Jack said he was minded to make a cost order in favour of all five defendants (the persons against whom Willock made the lawsuit), given the evidence that he had heard.

Willock’s attorney was given until October 5 to file any objections to the new cost schedule filed by Withers.

Justice Jack said a written decision on his assessment of costs is expected to follow shortly after he sees any objections filed by Davies.

Background of the injunction


House of Assembly Speaker, Julian Willock, filed an injunction weeks ago against three of the COI’s attorneys – Rhea Harrikisson, Andrew King and Bilal Rawat – from continuing as participants unless they were properly called to the bar in the BVI, in accordance with the law.

Willock later withdrew the matter after failing to get the AG’s permission to move the matter forward in the High Court.

When the court asked Willock, along with the other defendants named (including the AG), to state their respective positions as it relates to legal fees on the matter, the three main defendants claimed that they had incurred $71,388.59 in expenses, while AG Dawn Smith assessed her own costs in the matter at $6,084.00.

Davies argued that the Speaker should not be held responsible for the costs in the matter because he brought it before the court as an administrative action which was a matter of public interest in the first instance.

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?
×