ROAD TOWN, Tortola, Virgin Islands — Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley has confirmed that former Speaker of the House of Assembly Julian Willock has been serving as his Political Adviser, ending months of speculation surrounding the appointment.

According to information confirmed by the Premier’s Office, Willock receives an annual salary of $120,000 ($10,000 pm), with a contract that started on May 1, 2026. He will continue in the position until the end of the Premier’s current term in office unless his employment is terminated earlier.

The confirmation came during the Premier’s appearance on Talking Points, after weeks of public debate over whether Willock had officially accepted the role. Until now, Willock had repeatedly declined to confirm the appointment, maintaining that any announcement should come from the Premier.

During the interview, Dr. Wheatley dismissed suggestions that the appointment had been concealed.

“It’s not something that’s been a secret. It’s something that has come up in previous press conferences,” the Premier said.

He explained that the position was established following the Government’s adoption of its Ministerial Staff Policy.

“So he is my Political Adviser. That was decided following the passage of our ministerial staff policy.”

The Premier defended Willock’s appointment by highlighting his public service experience and academic qualifications.

“He’s well qualified… He’s a former Permanent Secretary. He’s trained in political science,” Dr. Wheatley said, adding that Willock holds a master’s degree in the field.

The Premier further noted that political advisers are a normal feature of governments operating under the Westminster system.

“The post of special advisers is nothing strange in the United Kingdom. Of course, we go based on the Westminster system. So it might be strange in the Virgin Islands, but it’s certainly not strange to the UK and the Westminster system.”

What exactly will Willock be advising on?

While confirming the appointment, the Premier stopped short of identifying the specific policy areas or projects for which Willock is responsible.

Dr. Wheatley stated only that his Political Adviser operates under a comprehensive job description and has defined responsibilities and accountability measures.

In terms of exactly what advice Willock will be providing and on which matters he will be advising the Premier, only the Premier can indicate the full scope of those responsibilities.

Government’s own policy places transparency at the centre

The appointment has renewed debate about transparency—not because political advisers are uncommon in Westminster systems, but because taxpayers are funding a senior political position whose responsibilities have not been publicly outlined.

The Government’s own Ministerial Staff Policy makes clear that ministerial staff exist to provide the political advice that politically neutral public officers cannot provide. It also states that the policy is intended to strengthen good governance, accountability, transparency and ethical conduct while protecting the impartiality of the Public Service.

The policy also requires ministerial staff to comply with several governance safeguards, including:

• A Code of Conduct;
• An Oath of Office;
• An Oath of Confidentiality;
• A Declaration of Interest; and
• A Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form.

Those provisions naturally raise several public interest questions.

Has Mr. Willock completed the required Declaration of Interest?

Has he disclosed that he intends to contest the next General Election as a candidate for the governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP)?

If so, how will any actual or perceived conflicts of interest be managed?

Will those declarations be made public, or will the Government otherwise demonstrate how it is complying with its own policy?

Those questions arise directly from the Government’s published policy and go to the heart of transparency and public confidence.

Conflict of interest concerns likely to attract scrutiny

The appointment is also expected to generate discussion because Willock has publicly acknowledged that he intends to contest the next General Election as a candidate for the Virgin Islands Party.

As Political Adviser, Willock now occupies one of the Premier’s closest political advisory roles while simultaneously preparing to seek elected office under the same governing party.

Although political advisers are, by their very nature, political appointments, governance experts generally stress the importance of maintaining a clear separation between government resources and party political activity.

The Ministerial Staff Policy itself recognises the need for declarations of interest and conflict management, making those safeguards particularly significant in this case.

The Premier did not address how any potential conflicts would be managed.

Appointment was not publicly announced

While Premier Wheatley maintained that the appointment “was not a secret,” no formal announcement appears to have been issued when Willock officially assumed the role on May 1, 2026, some two months ago. 

Instead, speculation continued for weeks after the Premier first disclosed in March that his office intended to appoint Willock as a Special Adviser.

During that period, Willock consistently declined to confirm whether he had accepted the position, referring questions back to the Premier.

For many observers, the issue is not whether the Premier has the authority to appoint a Political Adviser, but whether appointments funded by taxpayers should be proactively disclosed when they take effect rather than confirmed only after sustained public questioning.

How other Westminster governments operate

Premier Wheatley is correct that political advisers are common throughout Westminster democracies.

In the United Kingdom, Special Advisers—commonly known as “SpAds”—serve ministers as political appointees and are employed to provide political advice that career civil servants cannot.

However, the UK system also places considerable emphasis on transparency. The Cabinet Office publishes annual reports identifying the number of Special Advisers employed, their salary bands and the Code of Conduct governing their work.

Similarly, other British Overseas Territories, including the Cayman Islands and Bermuda, have formal governance frameworks governing ministerial staff, ethical obligations and reporting relationships.

The Virgin Islands’ new Ministerial Staff Policy mirrors many of those governance principles.

The difference, however, is that in jurisdictions such as the UK, political appointments are generally announced publicly and accompanied by clear information about their roles and accountability.

That distinction is likely to become part of the public discussion in the Virgin Islands.

Why this appointment matters

The significance of Willock’s appointment extends well beyond one individual.

Political advisers occupy a unique space between politics and government. Unlike career public officers, they are employed specifically to advance the elected government’s political agenda while respecting the neutrality of the Public Service.

For that reason, transparency and accountability become particularly important.

Among the questions taxpayers may reasonably expect answers to are:

• What measurable objectives has the Political Adviser been hired to achieve?
• How will his performance be assessed?
• How does his role differ from work already performed by permanent secretaries and other senior public officers?
• How will government ensure public resources are not used for political campaigning?
• What safeguards exist while the adviser prepares to contest the next General Election?

Those questions are not criticisms of the appointment itself. Rather, they reflect the principles of openness, accountability and good governance that the Government’s own policy seeks to uphold.

A career marked by senior appointments and controversy

Willock has been one of the Territory’s most recognisable and often controversial public figures over the past two decades.

Before entering politics, he served as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Water and Sewerage, before leaving that post in a cloud of secrecy. He was dismissed from that position in 2012 for reasons that were not disclosed.

Following the 2019 General Election, he was selected Speaker of the House of Assembly, serving until 2022.

His tenure ended when Premier Wheatley restructured his administration and replaced him as Speaker.

Since then, Willock has returned to active politics and has publicly indicated his intention to contest the Third Electoral District as a Virgin Islands Party candidate at the next General Election.

Legal challenges

Willock’s appointment also comes while several legal matters involving the former Speaker remain before the courts.

In January 2022, Willock disclosed that he had been arrested and questioned by United Kingdom investigators attached to the Commission of Inquiry investigation regarding visa waivers.

At the time, he said he had been questioned by six UK officers before being released without charge and publicly described the allegations as “trumped-up.”

More than two years later, on July 4, 2024, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force arrested and charged Willock following an 18-month investigation conducted by the Commission of Inquiry Police Investigation Team.

Police alleged that two separate investigations uncovered evidence relating to visa waiver misconduct and the presentation of a forged document to the Immigration Department between 2018 and 2022.

Willock was charged with:

• One count of a public official using his office for gratification;
• Conspiracy to provide false information to a public servant; and
• Conspiracy to utter a forged document.

He was granted bail in the sum of $50,000 and ordered to appear before the Magistrate’s Court. Those proceedings remain before the courts, and Willock is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Separately, Willock is also facing a theft charge before the Magistrate’s Court in another matter. Court records previously indicated that he made a second appearance in those proceedings during April 2026, and again in June, with the trial set to be heard on September 28, 2026. That case also remains before the courts.

In July 2016, police said Willock was apprehended and transported to His Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut.

Police were said to be executing a default warrant issued by Magistrate Ayanna Baptiste-DaBreo, according to the Police Information Office. Default warrants often are issued if a person fails to appear in court.

While none of the pending matters legally prohibit his appointment as Political Adviser, they form part of the broader public discussion surrounding his return to a senior taxpayer-funded position within Government.

The next question

With the appointment now confirmed, attention is likely to shift from who was appointed to how the position will operate.

The Government’s own Ministerial Staff Policy emphasises transparency, accountability, declarations of interest and conflict management.

Against that backdrop, the public may now expect the Government to publish additional information outlining the Political Adviser’s responsibilities, performance expectations and the safeguards in place to manage any actual or perceived conflicts of interest as Willock prepares to seek elected office.

Those disclosures would not only provide clarity on the role itself but would also demonstrate the Government’s commitment to the very principles of openness and good governance that underpin its newly adopted Ministerial Staff Policy.