Bush said he needed armed guards overseas

(CNS): Following his arrest over the alleged abuse of his government credit card, Mckeeva Bush had made a number of claims about why he had taken cash advances in casinos that had nothing to do with gambling. One reason he had given to the deputy governor, the financial secretary and the chief officer in his finance ministry was the need to pay for armed security guards. As the crown closed its case against the former premier on Wednesday, Duncan Penny QC revealed comments that Bush had made tin a video interview after he was charged in connection with the case about privately hiring armed security staff because of threats on his life.

In an online video interview with the former media house, Cayman Net News, the political veteran said that his life had been threatened but the authorities here would not foot the bill to protect him and as a result he had to pay himself for his own protection when he was travelling in the States. He said that a threat assessment had been carried out and despite knowing that he was under threat he said ‘they’ did nothing to protect him, referring to the British who still control security issues in Cayman.

During the interview he did not mention that he had been gambling when he made the cash advances but had pointed to what he said was a genuine need for protection. He said he had used the cash to pay for armed men to protect him and his family members. Bush said that given the nature of security which he shouldn’t talk about the details so he was not able to supply formal receipts and reveal the source of his security detail.

In the same interview, from which the crown prosecutor read selections to the jury, the prosecutor also revealed that Bush had made claims about saving money for government. He told the reporter that he had also made his staff and political assistant sleep on the sofa of his suites rather than booking two hotel rooms. Bush added, that he had even washed his own socks and underwear in the hotel rooms where he stayed in order to save the public purse cash.