AG : I FREE TO MEET ANYBODYBy Andre Bagoo Thursday, September 3 2009
ATTORNEY GENERAL John Jeremie yesterday declared he “is free to meet whomever he chooses” and does not need permission from Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley to do so, as he denied any involvement in the recusal of commissioner Kenneth Sirju from the Cleaver Heights portion of the Uff Commission of Inquiry.
Jeremie’s stance came as the chairman of the inquiry, Professor John Uff, also denied Jeremie played a role in the decision taken by Sirju to recuse himself over links with a Cleaver Heights contractor.
In a faxed press release issued by his Policy and Media Research Unit, Jeremie noted that on Tuesday, the attorney for Rowley, Margaret Rose, wrote the commission expressing concern over information reportedly received from the commission which indicated Jeremie had met with Uff prior to the announcement that Sirju would recuse himself.
“The Attorney General wishes to state emphatically he had never met either chairman Uff or commissioner Sirju in any capacity and does not know either gentleman,” Jeremie’s release read.
“The Attorney General, as legal advisor to the Cabinet and the Government, is free to meet with whomever he chooses in the execution of those duties and does not require the permission of Dr Rowley or that of his attorneys,” Jeremie declared.
“Contrary to the statements in... the letter allegedly signed by Margaret Rose...the Attorney General has held no meeting with Professor John Uff, the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the construction sector or commissioner Sirju. In fact, I was out of the country in Grenada on official business,” he said.
Jeremie left for Grenada on Tuesday morning for a week-long trip to that country during which he is to attend a meeting of the Regional Council of Legal Education.
Uff, in an email response to the claims made in Rowley’s letter, denied any meeting with the Attorney General and also denied the press release announcing Sirju’s recusal was issued by the Office of the Attorney General.
“There is no truth whatsoever in these assertions. The press release was drafted by me following a conversation with Mr Sirju. This was by telephone since I am still in London and not travelling to Trinidad until the weekend,” Uff said.
“The Attorney General was not involved in Mr Sirju’s decision to recuse himself, which was made by Mr Sirju after our conversation. The Attorney General was only informed of the decision by being sent a copy of the press release by the secretariat, at the same time as it was provided to the press,” the chairman added.
Neither man explained the appearance of fax number 623-7193 which was labelled “AG OFFICE” on the press release announcing Sirju’s recusal issued on Tuesday.
In response to Jeremie’s statement that he is “free to meet with whomever he chooses,” Rowley yesterday said, “only our Attorney General could say something like that. He hasn’t learnt his lesson from the Mustill Inquiry. In the context of a commission of inquiry there are strictures that must be adhered to.”
Rowley also stuck by the letter he instructed his attorney, Rose, to write on Tuesday.
“I stand by my correspondence to the commission. There was a meeting scheduled over the Sirju issue, a meeting to which I was invited and which was scheduled to deal with the Cleaver Heights inquiry where I am an interested party. That meeting was scheduled for 11 am yesterday (Tuesday) morning. At sometime before 9 am my counsel received information from the commission that there was a meeting with the Attorney General following which the matter of Sirju’s involvement had been settled, and therefore that communication indicated to us that the meeting scheduled for 11 am had been cancelled.
“It is in the light of that I took issue of any intervention by the Attorney General. Under the circumstances of the concerns that I expressed, I am now very glad to hear the Attorney General saying that my fears are unfounded.
“However, it is to be noted that the Attorney General’s stringent denials are specific to him meeting with Professor Uff or Mr Sirju,” Rowley added.
In his release, the Attorney General revealed the Government had indicated to the commission it did not wish to intervene in the Sirju issue.
“Attorneys representing the Government before the commission have, by letter dated September 1, 2009, written to the secretary to the commission outlining clearly that the Government, having recommended the members appointed to the commission, does not wish to be called upon to make any determination as to the independence of commissioner Kenneth Sirju, this being a matter which the duly appointed commission should determine for itself.”
