Archive for August 6th, 2010

Teens admit pizza robbery

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 1 Comment

(CNS): The four teenagers charged with the robbery of Dominoes Pizza Savannah have now all pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and admitted to stealing CI$366 as well as one litre bottle of Coke and one of Sprite. Addie Haylock, Julissa Avila had pleaded guilty in Grand Court two weeks ago. Ariel McLaughlin and Anastasia Watson submitted their guilty pleas before Justice Cooke on Friday morning. All four defendants’ attorneys have asked for pre-sentencing reports before the three girls and one boy will now be sentenced next month. The three teens remain in custody until the 3 September when they will be sentenced on the one count of robbery relating to the incident.

The three girls, who were said to be wearing gloves and masks, entered the pizza parlour in the afternoon of Thursday 3 June carrying machetes. The teen robbers threatened two members of staff as they asked for money and then fled taking two soda bottles as they left. The girls escaped into a car which was driven by Watson.

One driver in fatal car crash cleared of DUI

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 4 Comments

(CNS): While both drivers involved in the fatal accident on Tuesday, 3 August, were initially arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, police said Friday afternoon that one of them has now been cleared, having passed all relevant screening tests for DUI. The other driver, who was also arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving as well as DUI, remains in George Town Hospital undergoing treatment for non life-threatening injuries. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)

As a result of the two car collision on Harquail Bypass, which police say occurred a few yards from the Lakeside Condos at approximately 12:30am, a 24-year-old old female passenger in a Honda civic sustained serious injuries when it collided with a Toyota Land Cruiser. She was later pronounced dead at the George Town Hospital.

Enquiries into the cause of the accident are still progressing, police said.

Wyclef Jean files papers to stand for Haiti president

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 0 Comments

(BBC): Hip hop star Wyclef Jean has formally registered to stand for president of his native Haiti as it rebuilds after the devastating January earthquake. Dozens of supporters greeted him as he arrived with his wife and daughter at an electoral council office in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The deadline to file candidacy papers for the 28 November poll is Saturday. Mr Jean, who lives in the US, will now have to prove he is eligible to run under Haitian law. A review board will verify that his candidacy meets constitutional requirements, including having lived in Haiti for five consecutive years leading up to the election and never having held foreign citizenship. The singer, who grew up in the US, holds a Haitian passport and has US residency.

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DEH fights fly infestation on Cayman Brac

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 14 Comments

(CNS): The Department of Environmental Health (DEH) is preparing to combat a marked increase in the number of houseflies on Cayman Brac and have developed a plan of action to deal with them. According to the DEH plan all major food establishments, hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, as well as their garbage collections and storage areas, will be surveyed, and treated with fly bait as necessary by DEH; all pig and cattle pens will be surveyed, and treated with fly bait as necessary; MRCU will spray the Cayman Brac landfill twice a week; and the DEH will continue compacting and covering landfill wastes on a regular basis.

“Throughout the year, there are seasonal variations in the levels of the house-flypopulation in the Cayman Islands on a whole,” said DEH Director Roydell Carter. “The public normally notices an increase during the warm summer months or shortly after the rainy period, because of higher temperatures and the moisture in decaying organic matter, including spoiled fruits.”

The public can help reduce the number of house flies at their residences by ensuring the following good sanitation measures: all foods should be protected from flies; food premises should screen food areas and keep doors closed to prevent entry of flies; do not eat foods that flies perch on, because it may be contaminated due to their nasty habits; keep all garbage enclosures clean; don’t throw fruit or vegetable peelings outside; pick up damaged or rotten fruit that has fallen from trees, and put them in an enclosed garbage receptacle; make sure your garbage is placed for collections on the scheduled days; keep pet and animal enclosures free from animal waste; do not throw, or leave, fish waste or dead fish on the beach or ironshore; use flytraps, screenings, and approved insecticides for fly control.

The public also can call the DEH’s Cayman Brac office at 948-2321 to make a complaint about house flies, and to request an application of fly bait.

The DEH says the housefly, Musca domestica, is a pest that can carry serious diseases. They transmit organisms on their hairs, mouthparts, vomitus and faeces that can cause illness or diseases. Parasitic organisms can cause diarrhoea, bacterial infections (dysentery) and viral infections (infectious hepatitis A and E).

Each female can lay about 500 eggs, usually in batches of 75 to 150. The eggs can hatch within a day, and the larvae (maggots) feed on usually dead and decaying organic material such as garbage, dead animals and manure. After about a week they develop into adult flies, with the capacity to lay eggs within 36 hours. The adults usually live from two weeks to a month, depending on conditions.

Although they normally stay around human habitations, flies can travel for several miles from the breeding place. They are active mostly in daytime and at night, they rest.

Governor dismisses Levers

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 25 Comments

(CNS): Following the recommendation by the Privy Council in London that the Cayman Islands Grand Court Judge, Justice Priya Levers, should be removed from the bench, the Governor’s Office issued a brief statement this morning that Justice Levers has been dismissed, effective today, Friday 6 August, in accordance to the Constitution. The Privy Council, which is the court of final appeal for the UK overseas territories, published its report 29 July, finding that “fatal flaws in a judicial career that has had many admirable features” led to the PC’s conclusion to recommend her removal.

The full statement from the Governor: “Following upon the advice of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council dated 29th July 2010, His Excellency The Governor, Duncan Taylor CBE, having received and considered that advice has in accordance with section 96(3) of the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009 removed Madame Justice Priya Levers from the Office of Judge of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. This is effective from the 6th August 2010.”

Read: Privy Council says judge misbehaved

Legal aid remains unresolved

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 12 Comments

(CNS): How defendants will be paying their attorneys in some of the country’s major criminal trials over the next few months is still unresolved. The Cayman Islands Grand Court is set to hear a number of high profile murder, attempted murder and firearms related cases this year where the defendants will need legal aid. But the issue of how the country will be funding this expense has not been made clear by government. Despite repeated requests by CNS, including an official Freedom of Information request which was refused, the most recent report on how legal aid should be managed remains under wraps.

The question of whether the courts or a specialist legal aid office under the premier’s ministry will be managing the system has not been answered. However, the budget documents for 2009/10 reveal that the funds have already been placed under the premier’s remit.

Last year McKeeva Bush announced in a late sitting of Finance Committee that he intended to establish a legal aid office, independent of the courts, which would be managed by local lawyers Theresa Pitcairn and Steve McField. The $1.8 million allocation was taken from judicial services and redistributed to the premier’s ministry. However, concerns raised by the chief justice and the wider legal fraternity saw the former governor, Stuart Jack, intervene and ask the government to examine the subject more closely before going ahead with the change.

As a result a government committee was formed which included Steve McField, Elio Solomon, two court representatives and Cheryl Neblett, as chair. The findings of that committee were recorded in a report which was handed to Cabinet at the beginning of March, the contents of which appear to be a closely guarded secret.

During the latest budget process for the 2010/11 fiscal year, government again moved the annual legal aid allocation of around $1.85 million to the premier’s ministry but there was no indication ofhow the money would be allocated and by whom.

Last week sources told CNS that the government has now made a decision to open a legal aid office which will be managed by Steve McField and will fall under the Ministry of Finance. However, CNS was unable to confirm the speculation that Cabinet has made a decision on the issue.

When Bush first announced his intention to change the way legal aid is administered in the hope of reducing the money spent by government on criminal defence, the opposition raised concerns about this type of funding being in the hands of politicians. PPM George Town member, Alden McLaughlin, pointed out to Finance Committee in October last year that the appearance that the premier would be deciding who gets what was “very worrying”.

The subject was raised in the Legislative Assembly again more recently when the members debated the anonymity bill, which provides for witnesses to remain anonymous during trials for those accused of serious or gang related offences.

McLaughlin, who is a qualified lawyer, pointed out that, with the introduction of the new powers for the police to present anonymous evidence, it was even more important that anyone accused of a serious offence was adequately represented. This meant that government had to ensure legal aid was properly funded. He said that without adequate representation, people could be convicted on anonymous evidence which was not tested, making those convictions unsafe.

This elicited an angry response from Bush who said he was not going to mollycoddle criminals because of human rights. He suggested the free representation of criminals was causing the rising crime problem and made it very clear that he resented government paying to represent those “who shot up children and burned women”.

The premier has made it clear publicly on a number of occasion that he does not believe that public money should go toward defending criminals and has given little credence to the principle that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty.

“Government has to find the money for legal aid and when there is no money what do we do– close the schools, stop the money for veterans?” he asked. “When you go to court you have to have someone talk for you, yes, but you should not go to court in the first place. You should not shoot people or burn people up.”

He said that by voting millions of dollars for legal aid to help them, the politicians had encouraged criminals.

The allocation of legal aid has been a contentious subject for politicians for years despite the fact that the rate for legal aid represetation is only $135 per hour considerably lower than the normal going rate for legal representation.

However, a report conducted by the law reform commission in 2008 found that the system in Cayman administered by the courts provided value for money and would be cheaper than a legal aid office. An audit by Dan Duguay the former auditor general, earlier this year confirmed that finding and while he said there were some record keeping issues at the court house it was evident that the money allocated for legal aid went directly to those in need of representation and not on administrative or other sundry costs.

Butterfield battles on in face of tough times

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 13 Comments

(CNS): Butterfield Bank still faces major challenges its management team have said in the wake of their second quarter results for 2010. With a net income of $0.2 million things are still tough for Bermuda’s oldest Bank. “Butterfield continues to operate in difficult economies with continued historically low interest rates compressing margins and yielding lower investment returns,” said Brad Kopp, Butterfield’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “Against this backdrop, the Bank remains focused on expense management. We also took further steps in the quarter to de-risk the balance sheet, selling one of our remaining Structured Investment Vehicle investments, thereby reducing our exposure by $31.6 million and realising a gain of $5.0 million.” (Photo Dennie WarrenJr)

He added that this was offset by additional required reserves on two hospitality loans. “Such actions further strengthen our balance sheet and help position us for future growth.”

Management said the comprehensive recapitalisation of the Bank this year involved the largest ever Rights Offering in Bermuda during the quarter, which enabled the legacy shareholders to purchase up to $130 million of Rights Shares to increase proportionately their ownership interest in the Butterfield Group. The Rights Offering closed on 11 May 2010 with the Bank’s legacy shareholders and other investors having expressed confidence in the Bank, as evidenced by an oversubscription of the Rights, Butterfield said in a statement.

The bank claimed that shareholders’ equity was bolstered by changes to post-retirement health carebenefits and improvements in market values of investments. “Following an independent, tri-annual actuarial review, the healthcare liability was reduced by approximately $27 million reflecting changes in demographics and claims costs since 2007,” it said.

The bank also amended the plan in the quarter for eligibility, benefits and cost sharing criteria which resulted in a further reduction of approximately $41 million. As at 30 June, the Bank still has a substantial obligation for post-retirement benefits in the amount of $78.7 million.

Kopp said the bank’s primary responsibility was to reward shareholders’, customers’ and employees’ loyalty by returning the Bank to profitability and rebuilding sustainable value in the Butterfield franchise. “With a further de-risked balance sheet, a strong capital position, sound operating structure and a great team of dedicated employees, I am very confident in our ability to achieve that goal,” he said.

At 30 June 2010, Butterfield had a tangible common equity ratio of 6.1%, total capital ratio of 21.7% and tier 1 capital ratio of 15.9%. Additionally, the Bank’s net book value per share increased to $1.17 per share, up from $0.99 per share at 31 March 2010.

Michael Collins, Senior Executive Vice President, Bermuda said it was clear the bank continued to face challenges when it came to generating revenue a problem he said for many international financial institutions in the current economic climate.

“In that regard it is positive to note that non-interest income year-over-year has held firm, whilst net interest income before provisions for credit losses was 7%, or $3.3 million, lower at $42.7 million in the quarter. Our deposits have remained stable, despite the economic difficulties in the markets in which we operate, which is encouraging, though we continue to see increases in loan and mortgage delinquency rates,” he said. “We remain focused on cost containment and have lowered expenses by $3.5 million versus a year ago whilst making appropriate investment to ensure the Bank’s offerings are best in class.”

Meanwhile, in the Cayman Islands the bank generated a net income of $0.8 million for Q2 2010 down $1.8 million on Q2 2009 as a result of additional loan loss the bank said. Total revenues of $13.7 million were $2.8 million below Q2 2009 results primarily due to the increased specific loan loss provisioning on four properties, which was slightly offset by an increase in non-interest income for Q2 2010.

Non-interest income of $ 9.2 million in Q2 2010 was up 10.4% from volume-driven foreign exchange and card processing as well as equity from Butterfield’s investment in Island Heritage Insurance.

Total assets at the end of Q2 2010 were $ 2.2 billion down $365 million from year end 2009, reflecting the strong hedge fund subscription cash inflow cycle seen prior to the Bank’s most recent year end.

Loans increased by $9.4 million over twelve months, with growth in the personal lending portfolio offset by a marginal contraction of the commercial loan portfolio and prudent loan loss provisioning. Client assets under administration ended Q2 2010 at $4.6 billion representing a decrease of $127 million from Q2 2009, whilst assets under management declined by $145m reflecting the turbulence experienced in the financial asset markets.

Miller wants different NCL

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 32 Comments

(CNS): The North Side independent MLA has insisted that he is not against conservation and wants to see a law passed to protect the country’s natural resources but is asking government to make a number of significant changes to the proposed legislation. Ezzard Miller said that he and his constituents want to see what he calls the ‘technocrats’ removed from the proposed conservation council and to eliminate what he perceives as its power. He also said the clause stating the crown can seek “to acquire” land shouldbe removed. Despite the fact that there is nothing in the National Conservation Law which says government can acquire land other than with the agreement of the owner, Miller says he doesn’t trust government.

It is currently proposed in the law that the National Conservation Council can, if it receives a request or a proposal, consider setting aside land for preservation. If it is not crown land the council will be able to take steps to see if it can be bought by or leased to government. If not, the council can propose a management plan and some form of payment in agreement with the landowners to preserve land for a specific species or critical habitat.

The law also provides for objections to any suggestions or recommendations by the council and there are no provisions for government to compulsory purchase any land to make into a conservation area.

However, Miller says the people of North Side have a history of fighting government over the designation of land zones and land use and there is very little trust in the district that government won’t overstep the mark. He said taking land from private hands and giving it to government was no guarantee that the land would be preserved.

He said it was very important that the conservation law has the trust of the people as Miller believes they need to buy into the law in order for it to be effective. With the changes he has suggested he said he and his constituents would be able to support conservation legislation.

“I want to make it clear that I am not anti-conservation or believe that economic development should always take precedence over the environment. However, I believe conservation legislation must reflect the cultural norms and be inclusive rather than exclusive of landowners,” Miller told CNS.

The North Side representative, whose district is one of the most unspoilt areas of Grand Cayman, said that be believed the “environmental technocrats should be enablers and facilitators to help owners develop their land in eco-friendly ways … rather than the concept of confiscating private property and laws to enforce their quasi scientific directives …”

Despite the fact that there are absolutely no provisions in the proposed law to confiscate private land, Miller and many of his constituents believe that government could still find ways to seize or prevent development if the legislation retains a provision for land acquisition.

His constituents, he said, have concerns that the major developers will have the power and the money to circumvent any government regulations associated with this law while the small land owner will be facing draconian fines and imprisonment for cutting silver thatch fronds from his own land. With what he said were too many examples of government hypocrisy when it came to conservation, he said this law would work against his constituents. He pointed out that the islands’ well know wealthy developers, such as Michael Ryan, were given permission to destroy mangrove buffers and dig canals over the acceptable depths, but when a North Sider cuts down a tree he gets fined.

Miller suggested the provision that allows local people to get licenses to use natural resources for themselves for small projects or crafts was unfair as they should be able to use a limited amount of the wood or fronds for thatch on their own land without a license. “In the same way that there are limits on how much sand can be taken from a beach each day we should have rights to take a limited amount of thatch to facilitate local crafters and support traditional artisans,” Miller said adding that denial or prohibition wouldn’t work and people needed to support the process with limits instead of bans.

Miller also criticised the proposed make up of the council, which he says should not be composed of environmental experts but should be made up of representatives from each of the districts and he said it should be the “environmental technocrats” that present their proposals for conservation to the council of lay people to make decisions on and not the other way round.

However, the director of the environment has made it clear the role of the council would be to offer environmental and ecological expert advice to developers and planners and recommendations to government; it would have no direct power to designated land a protected area or to stop any development.

Miller says he believes the council should not be able to recommend Cabinet designates environmental or protection areas but that all decisions on land zoning should remain with the Legislative Assembly.

Although Miller says people think he is fundamentally opposed to the NCL and he is being labelled an anti-conservationist, he said that was not true and there were many things in the law which he supported. Miller said he supported the idea of land management plans to help preserve and protect land and he said the conservation agreements were a sensible move. He said that he had established a committee among his constituents and they were hoping to finish the re-write of the legislation shortly and submit the changes to the ministry during the extended consultation period.

Legal heavyweights to sit on judicial committee

Cayman News | 06/08/2010 | 32 Comments

(CNS): A number of leading members of the regional judiciary have been appointed to the Cayman Islands legal commission created under the new constitution. The governor announced the names of the people who have been appointed to the country’s first Judicial and Legal Services on Thursday. The new appointees will serve on this special commission under the Chairmanship of Dan Scott. The seven diverse individuals joining Scott, who was appointed last month, will be entrusted with appointing and removing senior members of the local judiciary as well as dealing with complaints regarding the delivery of justice in Cayman.

There must be two people on the commission who are not lawyers. Dara Flowers-Burke is the second non-legal member as provided for under section 105 (a) of the constitution who will join a commission of legal heavy weights from across the Caribbean.

Those include Sir John Chadwick, (above) currently the chair of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal Edward Zacca, President of the Bermuda Court of Appeal, Sir David Simmons, one of the region’s leading judicial figures who served as attorney general and chief justice of Barbados and Richard Ground, the Bermuda CJ and former Cayman Attorney General.

Richard Coles another former attorney general of Cayman and latterly chair of the new human rights commission and Charles Jennings president of the Cayman Islands Law Society and former Maples and Calder partner will make up the 6th and 7th members.

According to the constitution the committee the judicial and legal service commission has to be made up of a chair who cannot be a lawyer, the president of the court of appeal, a person holding local high judicial office currently or very recently, two people who have held high judicial office in the commonwealth but not in the Cayman Islands, and two attorneys qualified to practice in the Cayman Island one of which has experience in government and one in private practice.

Dara Flowers-Burke has worked at the Flowers Group of companies since 2004, where initially as the Marketing and Communications Manager, she led the strategic corporate rebrand of the Group. In 2006, she oversaw the organisational and infrastructure modernisation of the sixty year old company, earning her an appointment to the Board of Directors. Dara serves as a Director on the Cayman Turtle Farm Board as well as Coordinator of the ever popular Flowers Sea Swim.

Sir John Chadwick was called to the Bar of England and Wales by Inner Temple (Bencher 1986, Treasurer 2004). In 1966 he was in private practice litigation and advisory work, principally in property, company insolvency, banking, insurance and matters including litigation in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Bermuda. From 1967-199l he was Standing Counsel to the Department of Trade and Industry; 1974-1980 Appointed Queen’s Counsel; 1980 Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey; 1986-1993 Recorder of Crown Courts in England and Wales; 1989-1991 Judge of the High Court of England and Wales assigned to the Chancery Division; 1991-1997 Chancery Supervising Judge, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff; 1993-1997 Appointed to HM Privy Council; 1997 Judge of the Courts of Appeal of England and Wales; 1997-2007 Appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal of Dubai International Financial Centre; 2008 Appointed Lieutenant Bailiff (Judge) in Guernsey and Appointed President of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands.

Edward Zacca, JA, OJ was Chief Justice of the Jamaican Supreme Court from 1985 to 1996 and in accordance with the Constitution of Jamaica, the Chief Justice he served as Acting Governor General from March to August 1991. Edward Zacca has had a long association with the Cayman Islands beginning in 1967 when he presided in the Grand Court over one of the then rare murder trials. Prior to the establishment of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal in 1984 he was a member of the Jamaica Court Appeal which heard appeal cases from Cayman. He served as President of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal from 1984 to 2008 and also served on the Bahamas Court of Appeal from March 2000 to July 2001. He is currently President of the Bermuda Court of Appeal, a position he has occupied since 2004 having served as appeal judge since 1996 in that jurisdiction.

Sir David Anthony Simmons K.A., B.C.H., Q.C., LL.M. (Lond.). entered the Faculty of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1960 and graduated with an LL.B. degree in 1963. After additional reading he was awarded an LL.M. degree in 1965. Sir David lectured in law in London until his return to Barbados in 1970. Between 1970 and 1974, he was a part-time lecturer in law at the Faculty of Law of the University of the West Indies. Sir David has had an outstanding career as a lawyer in Barbados and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1984. He served continuously for 25 years in the Parliament of Barbados from February 1976 to August 2001, on which date he retired from active politics. Twice he served as Attorney-General of Barbados; first, from 1985 to 1986, and, more recently, from September 1994 to August 2001. On many occasions during the latter period, Sir David acted as Prime Minister of Barbados. He assumed office as the 12th Chief Justice of Barbados on 1 January 2002. In 2003, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the U.W.I. and was also awarded the Honourary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) by the University of London – the first Caribbean person to be accorded that high distinction by that University. In 2006, Sir David was elected as an Honourary Bencher of the Honorable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, the Inn of Court at which he qualified as a Barrister-at-Law. As Attorney-General, Sir David presided over many initiatives and esteemed conferences including being Chairman of the Preparatory Committee to establish the Caribbean Court of Justice (1999-2001); first Chairman of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (2003-2004). In 2001, for his contribution to public service, law and politics, he was awarded the Barbados Centennial Honour (B.C.H.), and Barbados’ highest national honour, Knight of St. Andrew (K.A.). Simmons also sat on the tribunal last year which presided over the Justice Levers case. He is currently Chairman of the Integrity Commission in Turks and Caicos and will be appointed member and Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into the 1990 coup attempt in Trinidad.

Richard Ground OBE QC was called to the Bar in Gray’s Inn, in 1975 and began his legal career in private practice at Brick Court, Middle Temple, where he specialized in media law from 1976 to 83. In 1983 he moved to the Cayman Islands as Senior Crown Counsel and was appointed Queens Counsel (Cayman Islands) in 1987. He held the position of Attorney General of the Cayman Islands from 1987 to 1992. In 1991 he was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours List 1991 for his services as Attorney General in Cayman. He was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Bermuda from 1992 to 1998 and Chief Justice of the Turks & Caicos Islands from 1998 to 2004. He has been Chief Justice of Bermuda since March 2004.

Richard Coles studied at the College of Law in London and is a Fellow of the Caribbean Law Institute. He is an experienced lawyer both in England and in the Cayman Islands, being a Solicitor admitted in England, a Cayman Islands Attorney-at-law and Notary Public. Prior to coming to the Cayman Islands he was the founding partner of a substantial firm of solicitors with offices in England. From 1992 to 1999 he was the Attorney General for the Cayman Islands, a Member of the Cabinet and Legislative Assembly. Mr. Coles is a member of the Law Society of England, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, and the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in London. He also has the distinction of being a Freeman of the City of London. Since 1 December 2009, Mr. Coles has held the position of Chair of the Cayman Islands Human Rights Commission.

Charles Jennings was managing partner of Maples British Virgin Islands office in 2005 and its London office in 2006-7, returning to Cayman on being appointed joint worldwide managing partner in 2008. He practiced as a lawyer with Maples and Calder from 1986 until his retirement in 2009, having been made partner in 1992. He is the President of the Cayman Islands Law Society, a position he has held since 2001 (except for the two years he was in London), and is the Chair of the Government’s Financial Services Legislation Committee.