LONDON
- Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin met separately on Wednesday with Ben
Wallace, Minister of State for the Home Office and Ben Merrick,
Director of the Overseas Territories Department of the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office. Accompanying Premier McLaughlin was Chief
Officer Eric Bush of the Ministry of International Trade, Investment,
Aviation and Maritime Affairs, and Roy Tatum, Head of the Office of
the Premier.

The meetings focused on the
on-going talks on constitutional reform for the Cayman Islands as
well as other issues. With the Brexit date pushed back to October,
the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands governments are both keen
to conclude the constitutional reform discussions, and to have the
proposed changes debated in the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly
later this year. The UK Government’s upcoming response to the
recently published Foreign Affairs Committee report on the
relationship with the Overseas Territories was also discussed; as
were matters to do with the European Union blacklisting process and
public registers of beneficial ownership.

The day of meetings also
included talks with Sir Jeffery Jowell, QC, who is advising the
Cayman Islands Government on a range of issues, including
constitutional reform and the appeal of the Chief Justice’s
judgment that legalised same-sex marriages in the Cayman Islands.

Later Wednesday, as part of
the Cayman Government’s on-going UK political engagement programme,
the Premier sponsored a Cayman Islands All Party Parliamentary Group
(CI-APPG) dinner, with cross party attendance, at the House of Lords.
The host of the dinner was Lord Northbrook, a member of the CI-APPG,
and a long-time supporter of the Cayman Islands.

The Premier updated
attendees on Cayman’s economy and how well the country is doing.
But he also spoke frankly on matters of concern regarding what many
in the Overseas Territories view as a worrying trend by some UK
parliamentarians to intervene in the affairs of the territories in
matters that are the devolved responsibility of the elected
governments of the territories.

Mr. McLaughlin referred to
the purported imposition of public registers of beneficial ownership
by the UK Parliament as well as the approach taken by the Foreign
Affairs Committee in its recent report on the Territories, which he
described as “alarming”. He said that this type of unwarranted
intervention, should it continue, will only serve to drive a wedge
between the people of the territories and the United Kingdom and in
the end will serve neither the interests of the UK nor the
territories well.

Lord Northbrook said he was pleased to host the dinner on behalf of the Premier.

“I would like to give my
particular praise to the Premier for his work since he became the
Premier and the great strides in helping the UK to understand more
about the Cayman Islands and what they do,” he said.

“The event was a great
success. I was able to engage with a number of important figures in
Parliament and The House of Lords to further our education campaign
about the Cayman Islands within Westminster,” Mr. McLaughlin said.
“Continued high level engagement with MPs and Peers is essential
for the Cayman Islands to maintain a presence and understanding
within the Houses of Commons and Lords. My message also included a
note of warning of the consequences of a UK Parliament; 4,500 miles
from the Cayman Islands interfering in local matters that are not
only devolved, but in circumstances where they have no real
understanding of local people and local affairs.”

The Premier, along with
Messrs. Eric Bush and Roy Tatum travelled on Thursday to Monaco for
meetings and engagements with key yacht brokers and industry leaders.
The Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands is hosting those
meetings to advance the work of the new Ministry of International
Trade, Investment, Aviation and Maritime Affairs.

On Sunday the Premier will
participate in an annual charity bicycle ride of more than 87 miles
to benefit the
Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
The Cayman Islands Government has partly sponsored the riding kit for
the event and riding jerseys prominently display the Cayman Islands
Coat of Arms.