Noted Broadcaster Weighs In On OT's Future Relationship With Britain

As discussions rages on about the Overseas Territories future relationship with the United Kingdom, a noted broadcaster says Montserrat and other OT’s should consider having the same status as Crown Dependencies

Michael Jarvis, a former BBC Caribbean news presenter says this is one of the options facing the islands as a UK Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee launches an inquiry into the future of the Overseas Territories.

The Crown Dependencies were never colonies of the UK nor are they Overseas Territories, like Montserrat, which have a different relationship with the UK.

The constitutional relationship of the Crown Dependencies with the UK is maintained through the Crown and is not enshrined in a formal constitutional document.

Jarvis says other options include fully integrating into the UK with a devolved nations and regions status like Wales, Scotland and Ireland and having representation in the British Parliament.

He says the OT’s can also break away from the UK by seeking independence, maintain the status quo or develop a special relationship with the European Union post Brexit.

According to the FAC the inquiry would look into the governance of the OTs, including their adherence to human rights frameworks; the benefits to the UK and the OTs of the relationship between them; the financing of the OTs; the resilience of the OT’s and representation of the OTs in the UK and in the Commonwealth.