BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Prime Minister’s Press Secretary, Clecton Phillip, said that Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris was unaware of a letter sent to the Queen by former Governor-General Sir Edmund Lawrence requiring his retirement from that office with effect from Sunday, May 31, 2015.
Phillip made the statement yesterday (May 23) during a panel discussion at WINN FM’s weekly radio programme ‘Inside the News’.
He was responding to one of the statements made by former Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas at the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party’ Press Conference on Thursday (May 21), who said that the Dr. Harris-led Administration had retroactively removed Sir Edmond from office.
“Dr. Harris did not know that the Governor-General wrote to the Queen instructing us that he would retire and he got permission to retire on the 31st of May. Dr. Harris didn’t know that! You think that the Prime Minister would be informed by the Head of State that ‘I wrote to the Queen, I know the circumstances, we can’t get along because you going east and I going west’,” Phillip said.
On Tuesday (May 19), Prime Minister Harris announced that Tapley Seaton, Q.C, was officially appointed Acting Government-General by Queen Elizabeth ll.
“The Honourable Attorney-General Vincent Byron and I met with Sir Edmund Lawrence yesterday, Monday, May 18, 2015, at Government House to apprise him of the communication dated May 18, 2015 from Buckingham Palace confirming that Her Majesty the Queen had given her approval for the withdrawal of his appointment as the Governor-General of St Kitts and Nevis,” Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Timothy S. Harris said in a statement.
The correspondence stated that the Queen had also approved the appointment of Samuel Weymoth Tapley Seaton as Acting Governor-General of St. Christopher and Nevis.
“The Queen’s formal approval of the request was given on May 14, 2015 and is therefore effective from this date,” it added.
On May 12, 2015, Dr. Harris had informed the media that he was advised by Sir Edmund that he would proceed on leave from that day until May 17, 2015. Consequently, recommendation of the appointment of His Excellency Seaton was made by Dr. Harris and granted by instrument.
This led to a diversion from tradition as His Excellency Tapley Seaton read the Throne Speech at the inaugural Opening Session of the Federal Parliament under the Team Unity Government on Thursday May 14).
In an official statement last Tuesday, Sir Edmund explained that he had retired as the Head of State after serving the Federation for just over two years.
The statement noted that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll had previously given consent to Sir Edmund’s request to retire since Friday, March 13, 2015. The statement however noted that as of Tuesday (May 19) Buckingham Palace had informed him that on a formal request from Prime Minister Harris the retirement date was brought slightly forward to May 14.
The Prime Minister’s Press Secretary however strongly defended Dr. Harris’ decision, claiming that Sir Edmund was duty-bound to inform the Prime Minister of his actions.
“He had a right to inform Dr. Harris. No matter what you personally feel about Dr. Harris, he had a constitutional right and a duty to inform Dr. Harris that he had written to the Queen informing her that he would retire on the 31st of May.
“And having been granted permission by the Queen to retire on the 31st of May, he should have informed Dr. Harris as soon as he got that letter. Not for Dr. Harris to find out on the 18th that the Queen told him that Dr. Harris we agree with your request, we agree with your request to have him removed by the 14th.”
Phillip said that Sir Edmund would not have wanted to read the Throne Speech and made reference to the reception he received at the swearing-In Ceremony held at the Warner Park on Cricket Stadium on February 22.
“He wouldn’t want to read the Throne Speech. You saw the reaction of the crowd up at the Swearing-In Ceremony. The majority of the people, the people who voted for a change will not support the shenanigans and the ruse and the conduct of the former Governor-General. I don’t want to be disrespecting him, but he brought indignity on himself in the way he conducted himself in the office of the Governor-General."
