(BBC) The Belize government has nationalised the country’s leading telecommunications company, Belize Telemedia.
The House of Representa-tives approved the takeover of the company which is owned by Lord Ashcroft, a deputy chairman of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party.
He has extensive business interests in Belize, where he is a citizen, and has recently been involved in a series of legal disputes with local authorities.
“The current owners of Telemedia, as they have repeatedly demonstrated, will stop at nothing to frustrate the business of governance in this country,” Prime Minister Dean Barrow told the House.
In a statement, Telemedia has called the nationalisation both unconstitutional and unlawful.
The parliamentary opposition has said the action sends a negative message to investors.
