OT’s security advisor may be moonlighting

(L-R) The FCO’s Miami-based Law Enforcement Adviser Larry Covington, RCIPS Commissioner David Baines & Head of the Caribbean and Bermuda Section of the FCO Tony Bates (courtesy of Cayman Prepared)

(CNS): The man employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as its security advisor for the overseas territories also has his own private security company, which he appears to run from his home in Palmetto Bay, Florida, presenting a serious, potential conflict of interest.

The FCO has refused to comment on whether or not Larry Covington has permission to carry on his private business while acting as the territories’ security boss for the UK’s Caribbean jurisdictions, including Cayman, or why his consultancy business, Covington Advisory Services LLC, appears not to have been registered in accordance with the USA’s Foreign Agents Registration Act. CNS has, however, recently learned that, despite being a UK Diplomat, Covington has gained US citizenship.

A complaint about the controversial character, whose role in the Operation Tempura fiasco here in Cayman remains in question, has been made by a local criminal defence attorney. Peter Polack told CNS that he has raised his concerns in the public interest as he believes Covington could be breaching not only the British FCO’s rules but also US law on foreign agents and using his position to advance his commercial interests.

The UK government prohibits employees from engaging in secondary employment or using their official position to further personal interests but Covington is running a company which is directly related to his post with the British government. The local lawyer said he hopes the FCO will consider an enquiry into the matter. Polack has also filed a local FOI request to see if the Cayman Islands government, in particular the police, have used tax payers’ money to purchase services or security equipment from Covington’s firm.

Asked a number of questions by CNS about Covington, who is based at the Consulate General in Miami, the FCO refused to comment.

“We do not comment on individual staffing matters. We have strict rules about staff declaring outside interests such as accepting employment or engaging in business activities to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest,” a spokesperson stated but did not say if they were aware of Covington’s activities or whether or not he had permission.

Covington’s role with the FCO is opaque. While he is described as an advisor on security and policing for the UK’s Caribbean territories, it has never been made clear what that entails. Although Covington has reportedly visited Cayman, his visits have never been publicised. His name has, however, cropped up on a number of occasions and his role in the discredited internal Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) probe has recently been in question.

Covington is one of the individuals who, according to former Cayman Islands police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan, had been consulted on regarding the alleged break-in at local media house Cayman Net News, which triggered the ill-fated probe, which was led by Martin Bridger, the senior investigating officer in the case. Kernohan and another former senior officer with the RCIPS, John Jones, have both stated that Cayman Islands Attorney General Samuel Bulgin and the Cayman governor at the time, Stuart Jack, were all informed about the proposal to have staff at the newspaper enter the office after hours. The goal had been for the employees to find evidence they believe existed to show that a senior police officer was leaking important police information to the proprietor of Net News, the late Desmond Seales.

Covington was also said by the two former RCIPS top cops to have been involved in the meetings and conversations about the issue via telephone. While both the attorney general and the former governor have denied being consulted about the break-in, Covington has never commented on what he knew.