30 April 2009

Overseas Territories Directorate

Room K225

King Charles Street

London SW1A 2AH

Tel: 020 7008 3596

Fax: 020 7008 2879

E-mail: [email address]

Mr W Cooper

Dear Mr Cooper,

FOI Request, Ref: 0279-09

Subject: Turks and Caicos Islands

Thank you for your request of 31 March made under the Freedom of Information Act (“the Act”). In your request, you ask a number of questions relating to the proposed suspension of parts of the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution including the Cabinet and the House of Assembly. As the Act only covers requests for recorded information your letter has been treated as “business as usual".

I should like to point out that the UK Government's actions are as a result of concerns voiced by the citizens of the Turks and Caicos Islands. These concerns have been expressed over a period of time and were given particular emphasis in the Foreign Affairs Committee's report on the Overseas Territories published in July 2008. The Commission of Inquiry (www.tci-inquiry.org) has also listened and taken account of the concerns and information provided by Turks and Caicos Islanders. In his Interim Report, Sir Robin Auld states that this information “has demonstrated a need for urgent suspension in whole or in part of the Constitution and for other legislative and administrative reforms”.

The House of Assembly would not be suspended indefinitely. Unless the Commissioner's final report significantly changes our current assessment of the situation, the Order in Council to suspend those parts of the Constitution dealing with Cabinet and the House of Assembly would be brought into force after the report has been received (by 30 May 2009) and considered. This would not be a shift to indefinite direct rule. It would be a targeted intervention for an interim period which would last no longer than it takes for the necessary reforms to be implemented and to take effect. We hope it would be possible to hold elections in 2011 as scheduled. There will be no arrangement to enable Turks and Caicos Islanders to vote in UK elections.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has not had discussions during 2008-2009 about the introduction of direct rule in any other Overseas Territory.

Yours sincerely,

Malcolm Kirk

Malcolm Kirk

Overseas Territories Directorate

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Foreign &

Commonwealth

Office