A new senior counsel was welcomed to the Commission of Inquiry into Historic Losses of Land in Bermuda yesterday.

Dirk Harrison was appointed to the role after the resignation of Ivan Whitehall QC, last month.

Norma Wade-Miller, the Commission chairwoman, said that Mr Harrison, who lives in Jamaica, joined the inquiry in person “in spite of the pandemic”.

She explained that he was a prosecutor “at the national level” in Jamaica.

Mrs Justice Wade-Miller added: “He was Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and head of the environmental law within the office.

“He was Contractor General as a sole commissioner to the Parliament of Jamaica.

“He is an independent member as well as the chairman of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies.”

Mr Harrison will be assisted by island lawyer Bruce Swan.

The Commission secretariat said earlier that Mr Whitehall stepped down for “personal reasons”.