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OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on the retired Justice Judith Jones-led Police Service Commission (PSC) to explain how the Stanley John report, commissioned by the independent body, was leaked to the media and the National Security Council (NSC) headed by the Prime Minister.
The report was commissioned by the PSC following allegations of corruption within the police service in relation to the granting of firearm users licences (FULs).
Damning allegations were made against former commissioner of police (CoP) Gary Griffith in the report, excerpts of which were published in the Trinidad Express.
Griffith is seeking legal redress on the basis that he was assured he was not the subject of the report, and that he was not given the opportunity to respond to the findings.
On a United National Congress (UNC) virtual platform on Monday night, Persad-Bissessar said the leak suggests that the new PSC has been compromised.
The former commission, headed by Bliss Seepersad, collapsed after the merit list for the appointment of CoP and deputy CoP were handed to President Paula-Mae Weekes and then withdrawn.
Persad-Bissessar said this act has eroded the trust and confidence of this new team’s selection for the top official in the police service.
She called on the Jones-led commission to come clean or resign.
“I call on this commission to come clean. You all have already made a compromising mess of your appointment. I can’t see that you can get any better.
“The only place you have to go further is to go down. Get out before you are used as puppets on a string by this wicked and corrupt government to do their bidding. That's what they are planning to do with you now.”
She said she was not concerned about the content of the report, although she was tickled that money was being spent on investigations on how legal FUL’s were issued, but not about the illegal guns as the murder toll climbed to 48 in 30 days.
“I am concerned about how, why, where a report commissioned by the supposedly independent PSC found itself in the media, found itself to the PM.
“How did that happen? Who did it? Aren’t you all supposed to be an independent commission?
“You must answer who gave instructions to send the report to the Government. Through this act, you have severely compromised your perceived independence and so now I ask you to provide this information as well as the legal advice relating to the scrapping of the 2021 merit list.”
She was critical of some members of the PSC whom, she said, should not even be there but have been appointed based on their “political connections.”
“One is close to the Prime Minister’s best friend in Tobago. Another of those persons was campaigning for the PNM in the general elections, making really abusive remarks about the UNC – openly campaigning. Go to Facebook, it is there.
“There is a third one, I am told he has some serious behavioural allegations – none of these people should be sitting there. They should have never been selected in the first place.
“Again, this is where Her Excellency, the President, scraped the bottom of the barrel to come up with these people.
“This nepotism and eat-ah-food behaviour is what has also made the independent bench into a PNM bench in Parliament.
“This is the absolute worst and shameless independent bench in the history of TT. They have disgraced and debased the status of the independent bench.”
She also cast aspersions on the appointment of the President herself, asking if she got the job because she is a friend of the spouse of a senior government official.
“She is a friend. They have a ladies club going on in this thing, you know. So, she is the friend of a wife of a senior official of this Government. They are also liming buddies with one of the Independent Senators.
“Now the President appoints people on that service commission who are also friends of herself, and the spouse of this high government official.”
Persad-Bissessar also raised suspicion about an order Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi took to the Parliament last Friday on the selection of a CoP, acting CoP, deputy and acting deputies.
She questioned why seniority was removed as a criteria for recruitment of these top positions, as this could totally demoralise senior officers if one of their juniors gets the job over them.
She said that raises questions about having a “dark horse” in the race.
“Which person you handpicked to end up there who doesn't have the seniority, so you removed that as one of the criteria?” she asked.
The post Kamla tells PSC: Say who leaked Stanley John report or resign appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.