FNM Hits Back At AG On “Political Prosecutions”

The FNM MP for St. Anne’s hitting back at the Attorney General, who revealed on Monday that the Minnis administration spent $1.1 million dollars on the failed prosecutions of two former politicians.

Opposition Shadow Minister for Legal Affairs Adrian White slamming the decision by Attorney General Ryan Pinder to detail legal costs associated with the failed cases against a former PLP cabinet minister and a former senator. He called it a regrettable blunder that hit below the belt.

During his contribution in the senate Monday, Pinder said the Minnis administration spent $1.1 million on the failed prosecutions of former Cabinet Minister Shane Gibson and former Progressive Liberal Party Senator Frank Smith.

He said the amount represented nearly one-third of legal fees paid in the last term to foreign law firms.

While in opposition, PLP leader Philip Davis repeatedly called on the Minnis administration to say how much it was paying foreign attorneys to help prosecute cases against the prominent PLP members. The Attorney General was also asked how much the British attorneys had cost taxpayers but he wouldn’t say.

Smith and Gibson were both acquitted of all charges while Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett has yet to go on trial. The PLP has maintained the former government was on a political witch-hunt – a claim members of the Minnis administration denied.