Manning:
Gift wasn’t forced to resign
The Trinidad Guardian
Port
Spain
Petroleumworldtt.com
10 01 06
Prime
Minister Patrick Manning has denied that former
Foreign Affairs Minister Knowlson Gift was forced
to resign.
Speaking
after yesterday’s swearing in of new Minister
of Foreign Affairs Arnold Piggot, the Prime Minister
said Gift had hinted to him several times that he
had wanted to resign to do “other things.”
Manning
steadfastly declined to elaborate further on why
Gift had resigned, despite questions.
Manning
commended Gift’s performance as minister and
thanked him publicly for his work in the administration.
The
Prime Minister also praised Gift’s replacement,
Piggot, saying he had been well prepared for his
new role in the Foreign Affairs ministry with his
experience in Canada as High Commissioner there.
Piggott,
a former FCB banker, first entered the Manning administration
as Minister of Works and Transport in 2001.
He
was shifted to Canada as High Commissioner in 2002
following the first realignment of portfolios of
the Manning Cabinet.
In
April, Toronto’s CTV News pitched Piggott
as an example of diplomats who get away with breaking
the law due to diplomatic immunity. The station’s
report stated that Piggot was pulled over by Canadian
police for suspected drunk driving on Ottawa’s
Vanier Parkway in March last year and was charged
with “driving impaired” and refusing
to provide a breath sample.
The
report added that although he wasn’t prosecuted,
due to diplomatic immunity, his licence was suspended
for a year.
The
report stated that Piggott was one of seven people
with diplomatic immunity whose status shielded them
from prosecution after being stopped for suspended
drunk driving in 2005.
The
Trinidad Guardian
Saturday 30th September, 2006
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©2005-2006 Trinidad Publishing Company Limited
. All Rights Reserved.
