PM Kamla responds to Jack Warner's allegation on Section 34

Statement from the Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago.

Today's press conference held by Jack Warner was a damp squib littered with lies and more lies.

I am responding at the earliest opportunity in the hope this will ensure that these outrageous claims by Warner are treated with the contempt they deserve.

Let me state very clearly and unequivocally that these accusations are false and without any foundation whatsoever.

I hope that observers will by now have noted the pattern of increasingly farfetched claims being made by this man and how quickly each set of his claims unravels once the facts are known. Everybody knows his present plight and why he is becoming so desperate. He is a stranger to the truth.

The record shows that Mr. Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh, presiding in the Port of Spain High Court, stayed in November 2011 any move to have Galbaransingh and Ferguson extradited as being "unjust, oppressive and unlawful." This was well before the proclamation of Section 34 (in fact, almost one year before). So that claim of a connection is as others absolute nonsense.

Section 34 was passed unanimously by all sides of the House in 2012. It was subsequently repealed within 24 hours of receiving advice from the DPP to do so. As I stated at the time, I dealt with Minister as I needed to do. He had given erroneous advice to the Cabinet and had failed to accurately represent the position and views of the CJ and DPP. It gave me no pleasure to dismiss him but all Ministers in my Government are accountable and when tough decisions have needed to be taken, I have taken them.

Further I gave no instructions to the AG to sign the extradition of Mr. Warner. In fact nothing has been signed by the Ag to date. Another lie.

Let Mr. Warner take his allegations to the Integrity Commission as he and others have done before and for which I have been cleared on every occasion. Let him take his allegations to the police with the evidence he claims to have. This will put a stop to this nonsense.

I have asked my lawyers to review today's press conference and take the requisite action to stop this malicious misinformation once and for all.

I don’t intend to waste any more time on Mr. Warner’s ludicrous behaviour and crazy claims. I have a duty to the people of Trinidad and Tobago to lead this country and work tirelessly on their behalf. I remain focused on the issues that really matter and doing everything I can to improve the lives of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago.

I trust Mr. Warner’s desperate and fallacious claims will be treated with the derision they deserve by the people of Trinidad and Tobago.