Dear Editor,
In a section of the media, the British High Commissioner is reported to have made a statement which I find to be very curious and, frankly, disturbing. He said the United Kingdom is getting value for money as it relates to the operation of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) under the guidance of his countryman and Financial Investigations Advisor to SOCU, Dr. Sam Sittlington.
Responding to questions from the press at his residence on Friday, August 24th, Greg Quinn is quoted as saying, “It is not for SOCU to decide when and if a prosecution should move forward, and I KNOW (emphasis mine) that SOCU has done a lot of investigation on a whole range of subjects… all SOCU can do is put forward good cases; and I think if you ask Sam, he would say they have been doing that. SOCU is doing its job.”
Editor, in a previous letter, I had expressed concern over the level of interference in our domestic affairs by the UK High Commissioner and Dr. Sittlington, whose role is still undefined as he has been seen active in operational investigations.
The UK Envoy spoke as though he knows about the quality of the work being done by SOCU. Apart from the fact that he is Sittlington’s friend, any reasonable person would assume that Quinn could only make that assessment if he has access to confidential documents informing him of the extent and contents of investigations taking place at SOCU. Considering most, if not all of the cases being investigated by that Agency targets former PPP/C Ministers and officials, this raises the question as to whether any foreign representative would make this their business, and the extent to which High Commissioner Quinn is involved. The UK High Commissioner speaking so candidly on operational security matters can only be considered political interference and intrusion in the affairs of a sovereign nation, which is being ignored by the APNU+AFC Government, for it aids their objective of the political witch-hunt of former PPP/C officials.
Is Gregory Quinn doing this on his own? Or is it his way of appeasing London to justify the cost of Sittlington’s advisory role and going after political opponents to gain favour with the APNU+AFC government.
The freeing of Dr. Jennifer Westford of trumped-up charges brought against her on the advice of SOCU did nothing to improve Government’s image with its hard-core PNC base. They have more disappointments to come!
As he seems interested in our security affairs, does the UK High Commissioner know that the APNU+AFC Government has hired several lawyers friendly to the APNU+AFC Administration as Special Prosecutors who now benefit from the G$100 million the Government set aside to pay special prosecutors, while at the same time cuts the DPP budget, compromising her ability to go after the real hard-core criminals: murderers; armed bandits and rapists that are terrorising the entire nation on a daily basis?
I wonder what are the views of the UK High Commissioner on these issues, since he is not shy to comment on other security matters.
Sincerely,
Harry Gill
PPP/C Member of Parliament
Member of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee