The Committee began by hearing from the Premier of the British Virgin Islands, together with representatives of Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands, before hearing from two journalists who covered the relief effort. The Committee then had an opportunity to question Lord Bates, Minister of State at DFID, together with officials from the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence who were involved in oversight of the response.
Inquiry
The UK's response to Hurricane Irma inquiry
Witnesses Hon Dr D. Orlando Smith OBE, Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Blondel Cluff, Representative to the UK and EU, Government of Anguilla, and Tracy Knight, UK Representative, Turks and Caicos Islands Government; Deborah Haynes, Defence Editor, The Times, and Catherine Philp, Diplomatic Correspondent, The Times (at 10.50am); Rt Hon Lord Bates, Minister of State for International Development, Air Vice Marshal Edward Stringer, Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Operations), Ministry of Defence, Richard Montgomery, Director, Asia, Caribbean and Overseas Territories Division, Department for International Development, and Christina Scott, Director, Hurricane Recovery Unit, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (at 11.05am).