Reserve Power Called Immoral, Unethical
Residents marched to the Office of the Governor after Governor John Pruce used reserve powers under the Constitution to remove Acting Commissioner of Police Keron Vanterpool despite a Police Service Commission recommendation. Social commentator Pastor Claude O. Skelton-Cline told the crowd the issue is not the Governor personally but the colonial institution that the Governor represents, calling the law that permits such intervention "immoral and unethical."
Dozens marched from the Road Town Police Station to the Governor’s Office to protest Governor John Pruce’s recent use of reserve power to remove Keron Vanterpool as Acting Commissioner of Police, despite a recommendation from the Police Service Commission that she be appointed to the post.
At the Governor’s Office several participants addressed the crowd. Skelton-Cline warned that the protest was aimed at the institution the Governor represents rather than the individual. "We want to say to the United Kingdom that is the institution, that you have been and continues to be an unfaithful partner in this relationship," he said, declaring the time had come to begin "the filing of our divorce papers from the United Kingdom." Skelton-Cline acknowledged that Governor Pruce said he acted within the bounds of the Constitution, but argued the law itself is flawed. "While the Governor did not break any laws, the law is broken," he told the crowd, drawing historical comparisons to past unjust laws that were nonetheless enforced.
He specifically criticised provisions of the 2007 Constitution that grant the Governor reserve powers, saying it is wrong that "one somebody can have a super majority vote and undo what the 16,000 people have said." He called such authority "immoral and unethical" and decried its colonial legacy.
The dispute centers on the constitutional reserve power that allows the Governor to take certain decisions in the public interest or where the UK government believes it necessary. Supporters of Vanterpool point to the Police Service Commission’s recommendation, while the Governor’s office has asserted the actions taken were lawful under the Constitution.
For many residents, the incident has reignited broader questions about the balance of local self-governance and the continuing role of the United Kingdom in BVI affairs. Skelton-Cline told supporters "enough is enough," reflecting growing public frustration among those who see the reserve powers as anachronistic and inconsistent with modern democratic expectations.
The march and speeches were reported by Virgin Islands News Online; the episode is expected to prompt renewed debate here in the Territory about constitutional arrangements and the relationship with the UK as local leaders and residents weigh next steps.
Primary source: VINO