Hanging behind Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley’s chair in the House of Assembly in Road Town is a portrait of former premier Andrew Fahie.
Asked Friday if Mr. Fahie’s photo should be taken down following his recent conviction for drug-conspiracy offences in the United States, Dr. Wheatley didn’t provide a yes or no answer.
“He was a former premier. That’s not going to change. That’s now history,” Dr. Wheatley said. “It’s in our books. But I’ll leave that to the speaker and the clerk to be able to come to a conclusion on what protocol is.”
He added, “I think what the [Commission of Inquiry] has taught us is that we don’t just do things in isolated incidents. It’s important to have policies in place. It’s not a situation that we’ve experienced before.”
Opposition Leader Ronnie Skelton took a more direct approach to the question in a Tuesday press conference, while echoing the premier on the importance of following policies.
“Until there are regulations or a piece of legislation that governs what happens to the memorabilia of members when they have been convicted of serious crimes, I don’t think I can take it down,” Mr. Skelton said. “I think based on what happened, there needs to be a discussion. But you can’t go backward: You have to go forward.”