and appalled" by what is going on after a group, led by Margaret Thatcher's one-time Parliamentary Private Secretary, Conservative MP Sir John Stanley, had been sent to look into how the islands were being governed. Now the Commons is expected to announce a Commission of Inquiry into these goings-on by the end of July. The suspicion is that Governor Tauwhare, who has been roundly criticised by the locals and is soon to leave his sun-blessed posting, has not been doing his job with sufficient vigour.

According to the former opposition political consultant Anthony Hall, only a British commission would have the authority to conduct the forensic examination of bank accounts, sales of Crown Lands and business transactions. He says there's a general feeling that "Misick and his cabinet ministers are ruling over us like African kleptomaniacs".

Misick has

adopted a bling-bling lifestyle modelled on 'gangsta' rappers. His second wife Lisa Raye is a former American soap opera actress who wears diamonds and dresses slashed to the waist. Her photograph was used in Vanity Fair magazine to promote a millionaires' enclave at Dellis Cay and it was she who invited her 'friend' from America to perform as a stripper for a gala opening of the Nikki Beach Resort and Spa. When that friend then reported Misick's alleged rape to the local police, they did nothing. So she grabbed the sheets for Monica Lewinsky-style evidence, flew back to America and contacted the FBI, which is now investigating.

Whether or not Misick is ever put on trial or found guilty, his time as Premier has shown how loose Britain's control of this colony is. Its attempts to promote tourism and devolve responsibility have come at the expense of good governance, and the islanders resent it.