Jack Warner responded Monday to attacks from opposition leader Keith Rowley saying they are most regrettable and unfortunate because they were based on false and unfounded information.
The Works and Transport minister said it is unfortunate because the facts were available to Rowley but he chose to accept one story over another "to allow him to continue his campaign of hatred and lies against me since the People’s Partnership came into government."
Warner was reacting to statements by Rowley in connection with comments reportedly made by the opposition leader.
The minister said Rowley could not resist the temptation to make "false and malicious judgments."
In a media release, Warner said, "With little or no content to lift the dying if not dead spirits of his PNM membership, he launched into a tirade against me without making any attempt to determine the validity of the stories written by Brent Zephyrine of the Guardian and Darcel Choy of the Newsday.
"In true mauvais langue fashion fit for a “raging bull” he raised questions concerning my jurisdiction over the portfolio of the Ministry of National Security.
"If only Dr. Rowley had cross-referenced Choy, he would have realized that a discrepancy between the statements presented by Choy and Zephyrine existed and as such his vitriol would have never arisen.
"However, to expect Dr. Rowley to engage in such noble pursuits may be too much to ask," Warner said.
"For the records sake, Dr. Rowley, I was never speaking about the sickout taken by Members of the Police Social and Welfare Association but rather the action taken by Estate Police Officers of the Airports Authority.
"Also, I never expressed any intention “to use the T&T Defence Force as part of a contingency plan to deal with the scourge of police sickouts” as was reported. Rather my response was “thank God the army is standing by” to assist.
"That Zephyrine could get so much of his story wrong raises questions concerning the quality of his reporting skills. That Rowley could arbitrarily choose a version in spite of the different stories he had at his disposal tells us a lot about his ability to be a fair and just leader who can be trusted.
"This just goes to show that not every person with a doctor in front of their name knows about research or how to exam content properly for truthfulness because if that was the case, the errors made by Dr. Rowley in this regard and since he has been confined to the position of Leader of the Opposition could never have happened.
"I wish to advise Dr. Rowley in future to proceed cautiously because failure to do so can result in further damage to his already tainted and tarnished reputation which to date lacks credibility," Warner concluded.
Click here: Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : Newsday.co.tt
Click here: Warner: Soldiers will counter ‘blue sickout’ | The Trinidad Guardian
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