{"id":143817,"date":"2021-12-21T11:20:34","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T15:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=143817"},"modified":"2021-12-21T11:20:34","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T15:20:34","slug":"former-minister-says-he-will-never-give-in-to-blackmail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/former-minister-says-he-will-never-give-in-to-blackmail\/","title":{"rendered":"Former minister says he will never give in to \u201cblackmail”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former education minister, Michael Browne, who was acquitted on a serious criminal charge last week, is contending that he had been subjected to \u201cblackmail\u201d prior to the charge being laid against him.<\/p>

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Last week, High Court judge, Justice Colin William, acquitted the former education minister of the two serious criminal charges against him. The charges cannot be cited for legal reasons.<\/p>\n

The Member of Parliament for All Saints West had always maintained his innocence and the High Court judge said the prosecution did not prove beyond all reasonable doubt that Browne was guilty of the offences dating back to 2020.<\/p>

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Speaking at a public meeting over the weekend, Browne said that while there had not been an attempt \u201cto shake me down for money this directly, one thing I do know is that I have never given in to blackmail., I have never given in to a shakedown.<\/p>

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\u201cI would not start now neither would I start in the future and so I resisted and after I resisted charges were brought and those charges, I was comfortable because I knew the facts spoke for themselves\u201d.<\/p>\n

Browne has also questioned whether the police had \u201cdeliberately fudged the investigation of the matter,\u201d adding \u201cthe moment when I was being accused, my accuser was active on her cell phone, rejecting phone calls and even texting others.<\/p>

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\u2018It is very interesting that the police missed that. Even in court documents, it was also revealed that my accuser \u2026sought the services of an attorney before reporting an incident to the police. Meanwhile, several police officers past and present played a very active role, along with others, in ensuring that they would bring Michael Browne to pay or they would bring Michael Browne down\u201d.<\/p>\n

The police have not yet responded to Browne\u2019s accusation, but during his public event, Browne, also disclosed that he had been dismissed from the Cabinet by Prime Minister Gaston Browne as a result of the charges being laid against him.<\/p>

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\u201cI was subsequently fired as the minister of education, science and technology. I saw several news clippings saying that I had resigned. I never resigned I was fired\u2026and understandably so. I do respect the decision that was taken and understand the predicament that the prime minister was in.<\/p>

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\u201cSo I never fought the fact that I was fired,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, questions are being raised over the appearance of the Speaker of the Parliament, Sir Gerald Watt as being among the lawyers who represented Browne at the trial.<\/p>\n

Akaash Maharaj, who serves as the Ambassador-at-Large for the Ottawa-based Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, said on a local radio station here that he thought Sir Gerald\u2019s decision \u2018was a bizarre choice on his part.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you become the lawyer for a client, you are bound\u2026by confidentiality. There are things that the Speaker will know of that Member of Parliament which he is enjoined from sharing with anyone else and it is possible, by no means certain that is possible that things would have come out during that process with that the Speaker of the Legislator would find unacceptable as a sitting MP but now he can\u2019t act upon them because he only knows that \u2026as an acquired privilege.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it is right,\u201d he said, referring to the matter of conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that by representing an accused person in court when he must also rule over that person in the Legislature is unsustainable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Browne had previously said the former minister would be reinstated if he was found not guilty and last week added that he was not certain whether it would be in the previous portfolio.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Prime Minister appoints me to another ministry, whichever ministry he chooses to appoint me to I will work, because I am happy to serve my people. I am happy, I am ready and I am willing to work. I believe that I still have a lot to give, and I believe that because of this experience that I have been through,\u201d Browne said.<\/p>\n