Premier and Minister of Finance Dr The Hon D. Orlando Smith (AL), right, has come out swinging against the United Kingdom (UK) Government of Theresa M. May, left, following the vote in the House of Commons to an amendment to a Bill that would make information on who owns offshore accounts in the Overseas Territories public. Photo: Internet Source/VINO

A march has been organised for May 24, 2018 to demonstrate the Territory’s displeasure with attempts by the United Kingdom to derail the Virgin Islands’ legitimate financial services sector. Photo: VINO/File

In a public statement released last evening Thursday May 10, 2018 the Territory’s Leader said the vote on May 1, 2018 by the UK House of Commons is “a fundamental breach in the constitutional relationship and modern partnership between the United Kingdom and the Virgin Islands (VI) nurtured over the past half century.

The 73-year-old Leader warned the colonial power that “the democratically elected Government of the VI has clear responsibility for some matters and the UK has theirs. These responsibilities are spelt out in the VI Constitutional Order, 2007 and while it may be that this relationship allows for certain decisions to be made on behalf of the Territory by the UK, the decision the Parliament seemed to make on 1st May is not one of them.”

Discrimination against the VI- Dr Smith

In his strongest response yet, the Leader of Government Business added “I maintain that decision is fundamentally flawed and we will address this unjustified and discriminatory action in every possible and available forum.”

The vote on May 1, 2018 by the lower house and which now goes back to the House of Lords, considered the upper British Chambers, “poses a significant reputational and economic threat to these islands and its financial services industry,” Dr Smith said in his message.

He told the local and international public that “If a global standard is ever adopted, any public register of beneficial ownership must respect and protect fundamental rights: that is non-negotiable.”

We support the march

For the first time, Premier Smith also threw his support behind a public march organised by private citizens. He stated “Significantly, this heightened level of unity and engagement is manifesting itself in the community with the organisation of a public non-partisan march on 24th May 2018.”

The Premier claimed to have “received tremendous support and empathy for our position from persons from all walks of life and from all corners of the globe.”

The law passed on beneficial ownership registry, making them public, will not affect the British crown dependences of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man, which are self-governing possessions.