Mark Doyle

Opposition Leader Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has been assigned a police officer as a driver but will not receive a formal security detail, according to Minister of National Security and Deputy Prime Minister Major St Clair Leacock. The decision follows comments made by Leacock during a radio appearance last Monday, December 8, 2025, when he indicated that the matter of security arrangements for the Opposition Leader would be reviewed and resolved by the end of the week. Speaking on BOOM 106.9 FM’s morning programme hosted by Dwight “Bing” Joseph, Leacock said the review had been completed and that Dr. Gonsalves would…

Following the Unity Labour Party’s heavy defeat in the recent general election, questions are growing about the political future of former Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and whether he intends to remain active in frontline politics. Dr. Gonsalves, who led the country for nearly twenty-five years, is now the only remaining Member of Parliament for the ULP after the New Democratic Party secured fourteen of the fifteen seats in Parliament. While his party was swept from power nationally, Gonsalves retained his long-held seat in North Central Windward. The scale of the loss has shifted public attention beyond the election results…

The High Commission of St Vincent and the Grenadines in London is facing growing criticism from Vincentians in the United Kingdom, following persistent reports of poor service delivery, lack of communication, and what many describe as a culture of unprofessionalism that has gone unchecked for years. Cliplet News has conducted its own investigation after receiving multiple complaints from Vincentians who rely on the London mission for essential consular services, including passport renewals, documentation, and general enquiries. The findings point to deep-rooted administrative failures that raise serious questions about leadership, oversight, and the continued suitability of current staff at the mission.…

More than three years after 18-year-old Cjea Weekes died following a police encounter in Calliaqua, the official record says no crime was committed. An inquest has ended. A verdict of death by misadventure has been returned. The Director of Public Prosecutions has indicated that criminal liability does not arise. And yet, for many Vincentians, the case still does not feel settled. The question persists: how did a healthy teenager end up paralysed and dead days after interacting with police, with no one held criminally responsible? A night that changed everything In early February 2022, Weekes was riding a motorcycle when…

A man in his early forties from the Georgetown area is receiving medical treatment after sustaining gunshot wounds during an incident on the Windward side of St. Vincent in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to preliminary information, the victim was shot in the abdomen and one of his hands sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. He was initially taken to the Georgetown Hospital, where he received emergency care, before being transferred to the Milton Cato Memorial Teaching Hospital in Kingstown for further treatment. Medical sources indicate that the man’s injuries are serious but non-life-threatening at this time. He…

The promotion system within the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force is increasingly coming under scrutiny, as questions persist about fairness, transparency, and the long-term impact on morale and operational effectiveness. For years, it has been an open but largely unaddressed concern that some police officers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines serve for 20, 25, and in some instances close to 30 years, yet retire at—or near—the rank of constable. These are officers who have spent the majority of their adult lives on active duty, responding to crime, managing public order, and working long hours during emergencies,…

Cliplet News has commenced steps toward legal action in St. Vincent and the Grenadines following a series of public statements made by Vakeesha John which the organisation says misrepresent its published work and undermine its professional reputation. The matter concerns the article titled “Diplomats Should Not Be Begging for Work ”, published by Cliplet News as a commentary and analysis examining diplomatic conduct and public communication. The article raised a principle for discussion—namely, that diplomats should avoid public remarks that may reasonably be interpreted as pleas for appointment or retention. At no point did the article state, assert, or quote…

What was intended to be a warm and unifying diaspora address by veteran Consul General Rondy “Luta” McIntosh in Brooklyn last week instead evolved into an uncomfortable public moment — one that many observers interpreted as a plea for continued appointment, raising questions about diplomatic dignity and the posture of the country’s new administration. McIntosh was speaking at the Vincentian-American Independent National Charities (VINCI) pre-Christmas gala on Sunday, December 7, when he openly acknowledged uncertainty surrounding his future as Consul General to the United States, a post he has held since 2022. That appointment was made under the former Unity…

A Vincentian woman, La Fleur Spring, who resides in Canada, has provided a detailed and deeply troubling account of what she says her 11-year-old niece disclosed to her regarding alleged sexual abuse, as she raises serious concerns about the pace and handling of the police investigation and the wider child-protection response. Spring, who currently holds legal custody of the child, said she decided to speak publicly after what she described as months of limited progress following a report made to the Georgetown Police Station in September 2025. She maintains that despite medical findings, formal police statements, and repeated engagement with…

The Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) has arrested and charged 35-year-old Joelah Hepburn, a carpenter of Byera, with the murder of Ms. Lyda Adams, a 36-year-old resident of Keartons, Barrouallie. Ms. Adams had been the subject of a missing-person alert issued earlier this year after relatives reported her disappearance. Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit (MCU) intensified their investigation in recent weeks, ultimately determining that the offence occurred sometime between November 8 and November 25, 2025, at an unspecified location within St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to police, sufficient circumstantial evidence was gathered to support…