Margaret Hodge, the UK prime minister’s anti-corruption champion, has taken aim at overseas territories over beneficial ownership.
“Whilst I welcome the Cayman Islands engagement on legitimate access, there is more to do,” Hodge told the Compass. “Transparency is a vital tool helping us to follow the money and identify wrongdoings. That’s why public and legitimate interest registers are so important.”
Over a month ago, Hodge had warned that the UK could push overseas territories and crown dependencies to do more on beneficial ownership – though she did not name Cayman directly.
“I think we’re coming to the end of the road trying to do this through agreement,” Hodge said at the time, threatening that the British government “could consider revisiting the advantages” that overseas territories accrue from the connection to the UK.
Cayman has said it will stick with a register open only to those with a legitimate interest – meaning journalists, non-governmental organisations, financial crime investigators and business counterparties.
The Compass also contacted the UK’s minister of state for Europe, North America and the British Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty.
“The Government welcomes the legitimate interest access register introduced in the Cayman Islands in 2025 and the improvements that have been made to the register since then,” said an FCDO spokesperson on behalf of Doughty.
“We continue to work closely with Cayman and the other Territories to ensure LIA registers provide the maximum possible degree of access and transparency, whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions.”
Westminster sources told the Compass that the UK government’s ultimate goal is for overseas territories and crown dependencies to implement fully open beneficial ownership registers.
Doughty – like Hodge – may well be out of government by the end of July, but this position appears to hold cross-party support.
The Compass contacted Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, who said, “Cayman has made progress, but, in my view, is not there yet. It is important to listen carefully to what Minister Doughty is saying is now required and to implement it in full.”
Cayman perspective
Cayman’s government shows no sign of bowing to UK pressure.
When presented with the above quotes, a government spokesperson said there’s nothing new to add.
“Regarding our current beneficial ownership framework, there’s nothing new to add at present: As a framework within the Cayman Islands’ Central Register for Beneficial Ownership, the Cayman Islands’ legitimate interest access framework continues to provide verified transparency information to those with legitimate interests,” said the spokesperson.
“Therefore, while accounting for and balancing important constitutional, privacy and data-protection considerations, our Central Register is consistent with the framework agreed by Overseas Territories at the 2024 Joint Ministerial Council, and with international standards.”
Hodge and Doughty were both appointed by outgoing UK prime minister Keir Starmer, so all eyes are now on incoming prime minister Andy Burnham.
Burnham’s public statements on Cayman and beneficial ownership offer no direction to what stance the incoming prime minister may take.
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