British Virgin Islands broadcaster calls for 'benevolent dictator' as Speaker passes referral tied to Mandelson visit

Talk show host Claude Skelton Cline on his Honestly Speaking programme this week urged a "benevolent dictator" to guide the british virgin islands, and his critique of governance arrived as Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed he passed information to police that related to a visit to the islands and helped prompt the arrest of Lord Mandelson.

Broad call for stronger leadership

Claude Skelton Cline argued the territory needs stronger, more decisive leadership amid what he called global instability and local policy gaps. On his radio programme he said: "We need a bad — a double scribble leader in this country. A benevolent dictator, " and added: "I hate to use the word dictator in this era of Trump. But the adverb or the adjective is benevolent. "

Census, population and preparedness concerns

Skelton Cline framed his remarks around the status of a long-delayed census and population growth. He asked, "What is the status of our census exercise… Why is it that that exercise in regards to our census has never been completed, report never been gotten, nothing published. Why?" He said "The data and the numbers they do have so far, we are 50, 000 people in the Virgin Islands going north, " and urged residents to prepare: "Prepare spiritually. Prepare mentally. Prepare emotionally. Prepare financially. " The broadcaster warned that fuel storage, food security and infrastructure planning leave the british virgin islands vulnerable to global supply shocks, saying "We can’t wait until it starts raining to build an ark. "

Speaker says he passed 'relevant' material to police

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle confirmed to MPs that he passed what he described as "relevant" information to police and that he acted "in good faith, " calling it his "duty and responsibility. " He said he did not provide details and added, "It is regrettable this rapidly ended in the media. "

British Virgin Islands visit cited in Speaker's referral

It is understood Sir Lindsay passed on information he received in the British Virgin Islands during a visit last week suggesting Lord Mandelson was planning to travel there. Lord Mandelson's lawyers say he had agreed to an interview next month and say the decision to take him into custody was prompted by a "baseless" suggestion he planned to move abroad. Lawyers were twice told by the police that the referral came from Lord Forsyth, the Speaker of the House of Lords; Lord Forsyth has called suggestions he was involved "entirely false and without foundation. " Mishcon De Reya wrote to the Metropolitan Police asking what information and evidence justified the arrest.

Arrest, custody and ongoing legal steps

Lord Mandelson was arrested at his London home on Monday afternoon on suspicion of misconduct in public office and taken to Wandsworth police station for interview. He was at the station for nine hours before being released on bail in the early hours of Tuesday morning and surrendered his passport as one of his bail conditions. The arrest followed search warrants at two addresses in Wiltshire and Camden and was carried out by officers from the Met's central specialist crime division; on Monday he was seen being led away by plain clothes officers and put in the back of an unmarked car. The Metropolitan Police has said it will not comment. The force is understood to have conducted its own assessment of the credibility of the information passed on by Sir Lindsay before deciding to arrest, and consultations between the police and the Crown Prosecution Service are ongoing. The Met has said Lord Mandelson has been bailed to the end of May.

Background on the probe and Mandelson's position

The force launched an investigation earlier this month into allegations that while serving as a minister Lord Mandelson had passed on market-sensitive government information to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Lord Mandelson became the British ambassador to the US in February 2025 but was sacked in September after Downing Street said new information about the depth of his relationship with Epstein had emerged. Mandelson's lawyers say there is "absolutely no truth" to suggestions he was planning to leave the UK, that he has not acted criminally or been motivated by financial gain, and that his "overriding priority is to cooperate with the police investigation... and to clear his name. "

Officials and legal teams now head into the next confirmed milestones: Mandelson remains on bail to the end of May, his lawyers say he had already agreed to attend a voluntary interview next month, and the police and Crown Prosecution Service continue consultations over the investigation.