Special Branch policemen monitor the arrival of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley at the People’s National Movement’s Special Convention at St John’s Ambulance Brigade headquarters, Port-of-Spain, in April. PHOTO: MICHEAL BRUCERowley well protectedNational Security Minister Edmund Dillon said yesterday that Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is being well protected by the police and Defence Force.
He, however, declined to say if there was any increase or decrease in Special Branch officers protecting the PM after they made public complaints about working long hours. Some 30 Special Branch officers currently make up the PM’s security detail.
Dillon was questioned by reporters about the issue following yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, which ended before the scheduled 4.30 tea break after the Opposition stormed out of Parliament in protest over a ruling by House Speaker Brigid Annisette-George in which she denied a motion for urgent debate by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Dillon expressed concern that the officers would have raised their concerns about their working hours to the media. He said the move was “unprecedented” and “something like that should not have been discussed in the open forum as it has been.” He said the officers had “avenues in which you can air your concerns and I am sure that the Head of Special Branch is one such area that you can talk with, to the Commissioner of Police and of course the Minister of National Security.
“Any discussion of issues surrounding the Prime Minister, there are ways in which it can be dealt with, definitely not the public domain,” he insisted.
Dillon declined to say whether the matter was brought to the PM’s attention before by the Special Branch head.
Asked if any action could be taken against the officers, Dillon said: “That is left up to the Commissioner of Police.”
Asked if the Special Branch continues to provide 24-hour personal protection for Rowley, Dillon said he preferred not to make any comment on that. But he added that Rowley “is and will continue to be very well protected by the state agencies.”
Dillon also said the presence of the Defence Force at the Prime Minister’s residence was nothing new.
“The Defence Force has always been at the residence of the Prime Minister and continues to play an important role in the security of the PM and the President.”
Asked if the Special Branch was no longer providing security for the Prime Minister, Dillon said, “The Special Branch continues together with the Defence Force.”
In response to another question, Dillon denied being summoned to the PM’s residence yesterday for a meeting with Rowley. “No I was not called to the residence by the Prime Minister (but) I was at the residence with the Prime Minister this morning, yes I was.”
Dillon said all visits to the PM’s residence concern a number of issues, including his security, adding yesterday’s meeting discussed several issues relating to security. He declined comment on a claim that soldiers were yesterday asked to do duties for the PM that were normally done by Special Branch officers.
