Sir Philip Barton
ANGUILLA--Governor Dileeni Daniel Selvaratnam on Monday hosted a virtual visit for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development’s Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Philip Barton. He is the head of the UK Diplomatic Service and the most senior policy adviser to the UK foreign secretary. The virtual visit started with a bilateral meeting with Premier Dr. Ellis Lorenzo Webster followed by a virtual tour of projects within the Anguilla Programme that are being built with a grant of 60 million pounds sterling from the UK.
The first visit was to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where Barton met with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Aisha Andrewin and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Maeza Demis Adams. Work at the hospital includes considerable improvements and the tour included a visit to the laboratory team conducting COVID-19 testing. He also heard about the COVID-19 vaccination programme and its progress.
Premier Ellis Lorenzo Webster and Governor Dileeni Daniel Selvaratnam at final stop overlooking Road Bay Jetty.
He then visited the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School with Minister of Education and Social Development Dee-Ann Rogers and viewed the site of the new secondary school, the biggest project of the Anguilla Programme.
The permanent under-secretary met Deputy Governor Perin Bradley and Minister of Infrastructure Haydn Hughes to see the resurfaced runway at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. He also met with Commissioner of Police David Lynch, Prison Superintendent Carice Sasso and Chief Fire Officer Shondell Hodge. He was given a tour of the Anguilla Fire & Rescue Service Combined Service Building, including the impressive fire trucks that were also funded through the Anguilla Programme.
The final part of the virtual tour was a stop on Back Street to view the Road Bay Jetty development, another one of the infrastructure projects funded by the UK. He was met there by project leaders Darren Forbes-Batey and Rob Somers, who talked through the design and progress of the development.
