The chief minister of the volcano-hit Caribbean island of Montserrat, one of Britain's last remaining dependencies, resigned last night, the Foreign Office said. Mr Bertrand Osborne's resignation followed anger among Montserratians over a British relocation package offered to the nearly 5,000 residents left on the island, which was once home to 12,000 people.
The Foreign Office said the Montserrat Governor, Mr Frank Savage, the British government's representative on the island, had made a statement saying he had accepted Mr Osborne's decision "with regret".
Earlier yesterday, the British government pledged to pay the equivalent of six months' average salary to Montserrat residents who flee the volcano-devastated island for another Caribbean island. But many of the residents left on Montserrat were torn between offers of shelter by Britain or neighbouring islands and staying on because they were worried the financial aid offered would not be sufficient to begin a new life.
Many islanders accused Mr Osborne of being too weak in his dealings with the British government and said he had not negotiated a good enough deal for them.
The BBC reported that riot police were called in yesterday to deal with civil unrest involving several dozen islanders in the Montserrat town of Salem. It said arrests were made.
The package Britain yesterday announced for people wanting to leave fell far short of the amount demanded by local government officials in the colony, after it became clear the Soufriere Hills volcano could threaten the whole island.
Adults moving to other countries in the Caribbean would get £2,400 sterling over the next six months, provided they did not have savings and assets valued at more than £10,000.
Those under 18 would get £600. Britain would also pay air fares to nearby countries, the Department for International Development said.
Before the volcano became active two years ago, the island's population numbered about 11,000. Those who have continued to brave the wrath of the volcano, which has buried much of the lush island under layers of ash and destroyed the capital, Plymouth, are crammed into an area once considered safe in the north.
Britain's International Development Secretary, Ms Clare Short, said: "I understand that people are disgruntled but we have acted very quickly and reasonably.
"We provided funds for people who want to travel to Britain; we're now announcing a package for people who want to relocate in the Caribbean," she told BBC television.
Montserrat officials had said Britain should give heads of households the equivalent of $14,800 (£9,250), a second parent $11,100 and children $7,400.
Britain's aid package is pegged to average earnings on Montserrat and is for those living on the island on August 16th when scientists said the volcano was becoming much more dangerous.
The London Independent, compared Britain's pledge of £41.5 million to aid Montserrat, whose population is mainly black, with the billions spent on liberating the white Falkland Islanders from Argentina.
"Many people of Afro-Caribbean origin think they smell racism. They quite possibly do," the newspaper said. "We owe the islanders an apology and action." Britain said the number leaving the colony on British government-funded ferries had been small so far as people awaited details of the assisted package.