With the news breaking yesterday on the cost to the Cayman Islands of ex premier McKeeva Bush’s constant travelling for our benefit, as he was oft to tell us, I wonder if the documents revealing more than $350,000 spent over the last 12 months, would have been forthcoming if he had still been in office.

Cayman News Service’s original request for this information was refused “because of the ongoing police investigation”. There is still an ongoing police investigation regarding Bush and the only change is he isn’t there to make all the decisions.

The documents released are incredible and do not include his final trip to Jamaica, which I expect the public purse will have to pay to collect an award that was postponed because of his police problems, before he even left Cayman.

However, if he hadn’t gone Bush might still be premier.

A staggering figure of almost CI$1M in travelling that included airfares, accommodation and subsistence allowances plus his support, over his 3½ years in office has been revealed.

The misuse of his credit card is one of the charges against him, and may have been the straw that broke his camel’s back, dropping him into the arms of our friendly police force. The documents released show significant cash transfers on to Bush’s government credit card without explanation, amounting to $70,000!

Of course this can be explained by the sinister shady men in the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have “trumped up” these and other charges against him.

He has support from another senior politician who is in problems with the police.

Michael Misick, the former premier of Turks & Caicos Islands (T&C), has linked his own situation to that of Bush. He has claimed from his maximum security jail cell in Brazil that both Bush and himself are victims of the UK’s determination to control its territories. Misick said the British were using allegations of corruption as a way of getting rid of leaders who strive for independence or who want to govern autonomously.

“It is no coincidence that Bush has been arrested and I have been detained,” he said in a hand written open letter. “I detest colonization in all its forms.”

Misick, like Bush, has not been charged with any crime but he has been linked to the corruption probe into several politicians and business people in the T&C that resulted in direct rule from the UK until a few months ago. When Misick disappeared during the start of the probe an international warrant was issued for his arrest. The Brazilian authorities executed it in December after his claim for asylum there was denied.

But, of course, he has done nothing wrong and it is all about political persecution.

Mesick went travelling but may well be going home once the extradition proceedings have been completed.

Bush has been travelling and I bet he wishes he were still doing that.

At our expense, of course.