Together Gibraltar Urges MPs To Ensure Inquiries Bill “Does Not Interfere With McGrail Inquiry”
Together Gibraltar has urged MPs to ensure that the new Inquiries Bill “does not interfere with the McGrail Inquiry."
A statement continued: “On Thursday, the Gibraltar Government announced a bill aimed at updating our Inquiries legislation. Usually, bills in parliament are tabled six weeks before they are voted on, in order to give MPs and the public a chance to analyse them and raise concerns. This time, however, the government has used emergency powers to rush the bill through, seemingly ahead of the McGrail Inquiry set to kick off in just a few weeks.
“The McGrail Inquiry seeks to investigate allegations that Mr. McGrail, a former official, was coerced into early retirement. He claims that he was pressured by the Chief Minister to step down because he sought to execute a search warrant on associates of the Chief Minister.
“The government cites alignment with the UK Inquiries Bill as the reason for this legislative change. However, it’s worth noting that the UK law in question was ratified back in 2005, nearly twenty years ago. The GSLP-led government has had three full terms to address any necessary updates, including the two years since the establishment of the McGrail Inquiry.
“Transparency International UK, has already expressed reservations about the proposed bill. They assert that it could compromise the independence of the McGrail Inquiry and potentially tarnish Gibraltar’s governance and reputation. This is especially worrying at a time when we are trying to finalise a deal with the EU to secure Gibraltar’s security and prosperity.
“The government has promised in a statement not to use the Bill to cancel the McGrail Inquiry. However, this is a cold comfort as we will just have to take their word for it. We propose that the government do the right thing and make this stance binding.
“Given that this bill is now likely to be forced through, Together Gibraltar appeals to all MPs to table an amendment to the bill that it will not apply retrospectively to inquiries currently in progress.”
An updated statement ended: “Together Gibraltar have been made aware that this bill will now be voted on as part of today's session of parliament. As of 14:30 Wednesday (ie 30 minutes before parliament is set to convene) this was still not on the agenda on the parliament website. This fuels the concern that the government is trying to get this bill through without a reasonable chance for public scrutiny.”
