“If criminal charges are brought against former Minister Michael he shall not be the candidate for St Peter on the Labour Party slate for the next general election.” Those were the unequivocal words of Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
Speaking on the government run ABS TV Thursday evening, Browne said he was not suggesting whether MP Asot Michael was innocent or guilty but was making his position clear.
After Michael was held by police in London for questioning on Monday, the prime minister acted swiftly to remove his portfolio as Tourism, Economic Development, Investment and Energy minister, a move which many have declared to be hasty.
However, the prime minister said, at the time, he was informed that Michael had been arrested by the UK National Crime Agency in relation to bribes made by a UK national for business projects in the Caribbean. PM Browne emphasised that Michael was arrested, not merely detained, as some have argued.
He added that the former Tourism minister was released “under investigation” and that there was a possibility of criminal charges “in due course.”
“I felt the arrest itself was sufficient enough to revoke (his ministerial portfolio) temporarily pending the outcome,” Browne said. “I would have acted correctly and promptly to ensure the integrity of my government was not brought into disrepute.”
Browne took shots at the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) saying that, unlike them, he would not tolerate criminality in his party. He claimed that four of the UPP’s general election candidates have charges against them, two are known to the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy (ONDCP) as narcotic traffickers, and one is involved in human trafficking.
Meantime, Browne says he automatically assumed the ministerial portfolio for Tourism and that between Friday and next week, he will announce which ministers will assume Michael’s former portfolio.
Michael, still the Member of Parliament for St Peter, maintains his innocence.
