THE VALLEY, Aug 23 2015 – Mere weeks after taking up a five-year-job as Chief-of-Police on Anguilla on July 10 Amanda Stewart has abruptly resigned amid public outrage over comments made in a local paper
Stewart sparked public furor, when she called the island a “village”.
Stewart later took to the social network Facebook to apologise for her remarks claiming she had been “misrepresented’’ in the article.
However, according to security sources, the apology didn’t resolve her problems with local residents and she later went on sick leave citing “stress’’ before eventually quitting.
Stewart resigned last Monday in a letter to the island’s governor Christina Scott.
“As soon as I saw the article, I issued an honest and sincere apology for any offence caused, but the personal criticism has continued. This has now affected my health, and I have been left with no alternative than to resign and leave Anguilla.”
Her sudden resignation led to the cancellation of a meeting called on Wednesday by the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association at which Stewart was expected to address them on her plans to deal with crime and law and order on the island.
But the meeting was cancelled when the Governor’s Office announced that Stewart had resigned with immediate effect and that Governor Christina Scott had accepted her resignation.
Stewart and her husband Donald have now left Anguilla for Northern Ireland.
The former detective superintendent of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) took up the Chief-of-Police position on Anguilla after retiring from PSNI after 30 years of service.
