Ben Judah, a former Special Adviser to the British Foreign Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Photo: Provided/Royal Gazette

Ben Judah, a former Special Adviser to the British Foreign Secretary has said Overseas Territories should be named Overseas Kingdoms. Photo: Internet Source

Ben Judah, a former Special Adviser to the British Foreign Secretary, has suggested that Overseas Territories like the Virgin Islands (VI) have become problematic for the UK because they do not receive money or support from it. Photo: Internet Source

A March 5, 2026, Royal Gazette article shed light on Judah’s vision for the OTs, a vision he said began developing while at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for then Foreign Secretary David L. Lammy, who is now Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor of the UK. 

A vision for ‘global Britain’

Judah expounded on his vision for the OTs recently during the British podcast, Winston Marshall Show, explaining that one of the major changes he proposed would be creating a department for the Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies and renaming them Overseas Kingdoms. 

The name Overseas Territories is “outdated, colonial and doesn't offer these members of the British family the full respect that they deserve”, he explained as to why Overseas Kingdoms was better. 

He also suggested representation for the territories in the House of Lords, the formation of an OT volunteer corps and an education campaign in the UK.

However, the development of this plan was stalled following a Cabinet reshuffle and Lammy’s new appointment, with Judah being moved from the FDCO. 

While many OTs have expressed the desire to be self-determining, Judah shared that he has a vision for what he termed a “global Britain”. He plans to publish a policy paper which included OTs having the ability to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to sit in the House of Commons. 

He called OTs “historic parts of the British family” and was outraged that they had never had MPs and Lords. 

“It’s about setting things up so they get the best service from the UK and that they are part, in a different way, of the UK that matches their status in the world.”

Judah also said the UK should consider taking an approach like the French when “wrapping up its empire” and saw OTs such as Guadeloupe receive the same status as metropolitan France. 

“I'd love to see places like Bermuda or the Falklands become overseas kingdoms, part of the United Kingdom.”

Pressure from the UN

The United Nations (UN) Special Committee on Decolonisation (C-24) has called for the decolonisation of non-self-governing territories, including the VI. 

The C-24 has been mandated by the UN General Assembly to help facilitate the complete eradication of colonialism by 2030, and a draft resolution for the VI’s decolonisation has already been drafted. 

However, Judah’s personal take on giving the OT’s a say, according to him, is also about “getting off the UN’s colony list”. 

His plan, he said, will also make OTs more visible in British society and to use that resolve to “get them a lot of what they need and want from Britain”.