The National Security Council has concluded that there was “absolutely” no criminal offense committed by the Commissioner of Police Mark Collins following an investigation into the leaked “Police in Paradise” video.
This is according to His Excellency Governor John Rankin who made the disclosure during a press conference on Wednesday.
The governor was asked by local media why Commissioner Collins was not charged with breach of trust for his role in the video, a similar charge that was recently handed to former Director of the International Affairs Secretariat Najan Christopher for a letter she sent to Florida on behalf of the former Premier Andrew Fahie.
Governor Rankin replied that the comparison between the two senior public officers was not an apt comparison, stating that the Council was satisfied that there was no malicious intent by the top cop.
“The National Security Council of course noted that the video had been a matter of high concern and matter of high interest. But they also noted that the commissioner of police in his statement on the 27th of June had made an apology in relation to the video and the Council was satisfied that there was no malicious intent by the commissioner of police. The Council accepted that the commissioner of police had made clear his regret as to how the video was leaked and how it came into public knowledge. The Council also acknowledged and agreed that the material and general content of the leaked video were already in wide circulation, in the public domain. As subsequently the Council welcomed the fact that the perpetrators in one of the scenes in the video was actually apprehended”, he said.
The video will not be aired in the UK
While not disclosing who Commissioner Collins met with in the BVI Tourist Board, Governor Rankin in his statement said investigations by the NSC confirmed that there was indeed a meeting had between the commissioner and the Board.
This claim by the governor directly contradicts a previous statement made by the Director of the BVI Tourist Board Mr. Clive McCoy, who said his Board did not have any record of consultation being made regarding the filming of the “Police in Paradise” video and that there was no approval given for its recording.
However, Governor Rankin did assure the BVI public that the video will not be aired.
He said, “The NSC also noted and acknowledged that there had been some consultation between the commissioner of police and an official at the BVI Tourist Board. Council was also informed that there was no contractual agreement drawn up, that there was no exchange of money to produce the video ‘Police in Paradise’ and Council has received confirmation that the leaked video will not be aired on ITV in the United Kingdom. So that was the consideration which the NSC jointly gave to the issue. There was absolutely no criminal offense committed by the police commissioner in breach of trust or otherwise.”