Uff commission didn't make deal with UDeCOTT: Report

A report in the Trinidad Guardian quotes a lawyers involved in the Uff Commission of Enquiry into UDeCOTT and the construction sector as saying that UDeCOTT has not indicated it would file an application in the High Court to rescind decisions halting the inquiry from producing its findings.

The paper did not name the lawyer, but quoted him as saying, "...the position as stated in the (UDeCOTT) press release, is that the lawyers for UDeCOTT are going to be engaging in discussions with the lawyers for the commissioners with a view, first, to see if they can agree on adjustments to the consent order.

"And if they can agree, then yes, the intention is to go back to court and ask the court to adjust its order of last Friday in accordance with whatever can be arrived.”

The paper said the lawyer gave the interview on the telephone interview and requested anonymity.

According to the report the lawyer said the order stated that there will be no reinstatement or resumption of the inquiry until the date fixed for the hearing of the substantive application.

It said the lawyer told the paper he had not had contact with UDeCOTT's legal team to discuss changes to the order.

"I do not have a clue to indicate what their respective availability are," he is quoted as saying.

The paper said the lawyer also denied statements from UDeCOTT director Anthony Cherry that the attorneys representing the commissioners were the ones who sought the stay into the proceedings of the inquiry.

Cherry made that point on Monday at a news conference. He said the commission’s English solicitors, Charles Russell and Company, had given the undertaking, in a letter dated October 1, that the commission would not resume, and that the hearing of the judicial review matter be pushed back by four months.

The lawyer said both parties have agreed to the order but it is not true to say that the Uff lawyers requested the stay.