The head of a shipping company who launched a legal challenge against the Government has applauded a court decision that ruled in his favour.

Kenny Thomson, the president of Mailboxes Unlimited, also condemned the Government for pursuing the case through the courts over several years when its arguments were “deeply flawed”.

The long-running legal battle came to an end last week when the Court of Appeal upheld an earlier ruling that the Government had acted unlawfully when, in November 2020, it set up its own shopping and shipping platform through the Bermuda Post Office — in partnership with US company MyUS.

Mailboxes Unlimited filed a judicial review, and in 2023 Chief Justice Larry Mussenden — then a puisne judge — found that the Government’s contract with the foreign courier was “unlawful” because it had failed to abide by its own procurement code.

The Government appealed that ruling in January, arguing that its own procurement code was not legal because it had not been properly gazetted.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed that argument.

Last night, Mr Thomson said he was relieved that the four-year legal battle was finally over, but questioned why the Government had dragged proceedings out for so long on what he branded “a petty crusade”.

He pointed out that legal fees for the case are now in excess of $200,000 — a bill that the taxpayer will have to foot.

Mr Thomson said: “I was pleased to see such a decisive verdict by the Court of Appeal, affirming the original ruling in the Supreme Court. However, it shouldn’t have required a panel of international justices to recognise that the Government’s legal arguments were deeply flawed.

“They claimed the court could not infer the presence of a procurement while simultaneously withholding the contract against the court’s request — an egregious display of government opacity.

“They challenged Mailboxes’ standing to contest this deal, ignoring the fact that we are a 100 per cent locally owned shipping company with Bermudian staff in Bermuda and at our warehouse in Delaware. They accused us of delay, despite their own secrecy about the arrangement until months after the contract with MyUS had been signed.

“Lastly, in desperation, they argued their own procurement code wasn’t valid because someone in Government failed to publish it properly. These excuses, coupled with the lack of transparency and accountability shown throughout this case, are as outrageous as they are laughable.”

Mr Thomson went on to say that the episode highlighted government “dysfunction”.

He said: “Government waste is a dire issue in Bermuda. We’ve all heard about the $100 million wasted on a construction project that has delivered neither hospitality jobs nor affordable housing.

“Meanwhile, Bermudian wages haven’t kept up with inflation, the birthrate has dropped from almost 800 to less than 500 per year, and our education system is failing to prepare Bermudians for success in either international business or skilled trades.

“The Bermuda Post Office exemplifies this dysfunction — losing millions annually while delivering sub-par services, pursuing questionable deals, and failing to reduce its burden on taxpayers.

“Instead of addressing these pressing issues, the Government continues to waste taxpayer dollars on petty crusades, such as legal fees defending this sketchy partnership with a foreign company — which at this point probably total over $200,000.

“These costs, borne by taxpayers, represent a shameful misuse of public funds and highlight the Government’s ongoing failure to act in Bermudians’ best interests.”

Asked for a response to the Court of Appeal’s ruling, a government spokeswoman said: “The Government is aware of the court’s decision regarding the appeal case and is reviewing the judgment.”