In a media release Monday the PM said: "The Office of the Prime Minister wishes to state that it is not, nor has it ever been, in possession of any intercepted communication by the SIA and all allegations otherwise are false, misleading and erroneous."
The Sunday Express has claimed that Persad-Bissessar received the files in her capacity as head of the National Security Agency and that she passed the information to Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs.
The release noted that Gibbs alone is responsible for investigations into the SIA.
"Regarding the SIA and the recent investigations into this unit, the Office of the Prime Minister wishes to point out that the Commissioner of Police had and continues to have sole and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the SIA and all matters concerning investigations into its recent operations fall exclusively under the ambit and purview of the Commissioner of Police," the release stated.
The Prime Minister exposed the illegal activity last month and subsequently took a bill to parliament to legalise wiretapping under very stringent conditions. It was passed unanimously after some changes requested by the opposition.
National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy and Minister in the National Security Ministry Subhas Panday have both denied any knowledge about the whereabouts of the SIA-collected material, the Express said.
"There was a group of men from Israel who were here and they were thrashing all the files so that what we came across were empty folders, that is what alerted the Prime Minister to bring the Commissioner of Police in to prevent it from continuing. So I think that most of it has been thrashed already. All the secrets of the last Government have been thrashed," Volney said.
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