Foreign Secretary chairs Ministerial on UK support to British Overseas Territories

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has this afternoon chaired the first meeting of a new ministerial group overseeing UK support to British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma.

The Interministerial Group on Recovery will agree the UK government’s approach to supporting the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands following this month’s devastation.

It will secure cross-Whitehall agreement on recovery objectives and coordinate the work required to assist the territories as they move from immediate relief to longer term recovery.

The Foreign Secretary said:
Hurricane Irma was unprecedented. I saw for myself the devastation it inflicted on communities in the British Overseas Territories and I know that Britain’s immediate and unprecedented response was welcomed right across the islands.

Key to the success of our emergency support was the way British military, humanitarian and consular efforts were coordinated and targeted. So as we now move from providing relief to assisting in recovery, this new ministerial group will ensure all our future efforts are equally joined up and as effective as possible.

The UK government is determined to help the British Overseas Territories to get back on their feet, dust themselves off and to help them become more resilient to future natural disasters.

The first meeting of the ministerial group was attended by ministers from ten government departments, including International Development Secretary Priti Patel and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Elizabeth Truss, and included discussions on recovery objectives.