Cops search home of former Antigua PM

ST JOHN’S, Antigua: Police searched the home of former Prime Minister Lester Bird looking for missing documents from his office, Antigua’s Attorney General said. The search late Friday came just three days after Bird’s party was soundly defeated in elections following nearly three decades in power in Antigua and Barbuda. Police searched the homes of Bird and two of his allies — legislator Asot Michael and aide Peter Nurse, Attorney General Justin Simon said, adding he could not give additional details. It was unclear if police found any of the documents they were seeking.

Bird’s whereabouts weren’t immediately clear; he didn’t answer the phone at his home late on Friday. New Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has ordered a probe into the removal of documents from Bird’s office, saying it was “left denuded” by the time his party had won. Throughout the campaign Spencer’s party criticised what it described as rampant corruption under Bird. Last Saturday, protesters massed outside Bird’s office after workers were seen loading cardboard boxes onto trucks. Bird said the boxes contained only “personal items.”