Hon McKeeva Bush Leader of Government Business	MLA Alden McLaughlin	Stuart Kernohan Former Police Commissioner

Tensions ran so high in Finance Committee on Friday evening that proceedings had to be suspended to allow the Chairman, Financial Secretary Hon. Kenneth Jefferson, to restore order. This occurred after Leader of Government Business Hon. McKeeva Bush accused the former PPM administration and, in particular, the current Leader of the Opposition, Kurt Tibbetts, of having wrongly supported the ill-fated UK police investigations initiated by Governor Stuart Jack.

Mr Bush’s allegation, which appeared to surprise even members on the government side of the House, came as he was commenting on a motion made by North Side MLA Ezzard Miller calling for the Cayman Islands government to sue the UK Government, the FCO, the Metropolitan Police and the Governor for damages as a result of the injury caused to the Cayman Islands by the various investigations and prosecutions. Mr Bush was seeking to persuade Mr Miller to withdraw the motion, which had been made in Finance Committee, and to bring it as a substantive motion in the House when it resumes following Finance Committee.

Bush claimed that he had copies of public statements made by Mr Tibbetts supporting the UK police investigations and said that the former Leader of Government Business ought to have consulted with the public before he supported the Governor in initiating the investigations. He went on to talk about the dangers of rumour mongering and the damage it causes to people’s reputations and careers and warned about “finger pointing”. He said that there were lessons to be learned from having undertaken these investigations and that he hoped the country had learned these lessons.

Responding to the accusation by Mr Bush, East End MLA Arden McLean said, “I am appalled and stunned by what was just said.”

Mr McLean went on to point out that the PPM administration had repeatedly raised concerns about the investigations and that, in fact, it was Mr Bush who had communicated to former Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan the false allegations about an allegedly corrupt relationship between Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis and Cayman Net News publisher Desmond Seales, which had formed the basis of the Operation Tempura investigations.

Mr Bush kept interrupting the East End MLA and a shouting match ensued, forcing the Chairman of the Committee to suspend proceedings. During the suspension George Town MLA Alden McLaughlin joined the fray and he and Mr McLean could be heard telling Mr Bush that he was lying.

Mr McLaughlin referred to the evidence given by Mr Kernohan and the judgment of the Chief Justice in the Operation Tempura case and promised to have the contents of the transcript read into the record of Finance Committee.

The judgment delivered by Chief Justice Anthony Smellie on 20 March 2008 appears to support the Opposition’s contention that Mr Bush was involved in the events leading up to Operation Tempura. That judgment sets out the evidence given by Mr Kernohan and notes that he (Kernohan) “…received a telephone call from Mr McKeeva Bush… who indicated that he wished to inform him of a ‘leak’ in the senior ranks of the RCIPS who was providing sensitive information to the media. The Commissioner of Police states that he arranged a meeting with Mr Bush in the public area of the Ritz Carlton that evening (15th August 2007). At the meeting with Mr Bush, the Commissioner of Police states that Mr Bush informed him that one of his deputies, who he did not name but described, was providing information to the Net News on a regular basis. When asked by the Commissioner of Police, Mr Bush confirmed that he was referring to DCP Ennis.”

When Finance Committee resumed later on Friday evening, Mr Bush and the entire government bench present voted en bloc to continue to fund the UK police investigations to the tune of $364,000. North Side MLA Ezzard Miller and the PPM Opposition all voted against the further funding but were outvoted by the majority government bench.

Coincidentally, Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Ennis was actually present in Finance Committee at the time, answering questions as Commissioner David Baines was off Island on
official business.