PM urgently summons CJ

PRIME Minister Patrick Manning summoned Chief Justice Satnarine Sharma to a meeting at his Whitehall office yesterday morning. According to high-level sources, the meeting centred on a complaint Manning received from Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls on a reported attempt by a senior officer, to influence the outcome of the recent Basdeo Panday trial.

The meeting between Manning and the CJ lasted for half an hour. In a Whitehall release issued at 7.35 pm, the Prime Minister announced urgent matters, relating to this meeting, caused him to delay his scheduled departure for Spain and Austria.

Manning was due to leave last evening but postponed his departure for 24 hours, to deal with this issue. Sources said the PM has forwarded a written report from Mc Nicolls to Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson for further investigation. On April 24, Mc Nicolls found former Prime Minister Basdeo Panday guilty of failing to declare a London bank account.
Panday received a two-year sentence and was fined. He is currently out on bail.

Manning is due to attend the Spain/Caricom Summit which takes place today and tomorrow and the Fourth EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit of Heads of State, in Austria on May 12 and 13. He is due to leave tonight.