Embattled Press Officer accompanies President to UN meeting

President David Granger’s Chief Press Officer, Lloyda Garrett, who is under investigation for allegedly using a racial slur to describe staff at the Ministry of the Presidency, is currently in New York, with the President himself, as he leads a delegation to the 72nd Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

This is the first public appearance that Ms. Garrett has made since the scandal broke last week; she was absent from several of the President’s public engagements and did not show up to work. In New York, News Room approached Ms. Garrett for a comment on the allegations against her, but she refused to speak to the media.

Screenshots of the conversation within a Facebook group, which went viral on social media, show Ms. Garrett using a racial slur to describe employees at the Ministry. She has since deactivated her Facebook account. The News Room was reliably informed that Ms. Garrett also shared an email from the President with her friends in the group.

News Room was reliably informed that Ms. Garrett had apologized to the staff at the Ministry after the screenshots became public; however she is yet to issue a public apology.

In addressing the issue, President Granger had told the media last week that the racially derogatory remark is not the policy of the Ministry of the Presidency.

The President also noted that it is not his policy to engage in that type of language. In defense of Ms. Garrett, the President had told News Room, “but I would like to feel that it is not something that represented her personal philosophy.”

The President promised to investigate the allegations more thoroughly and noted that when that investigation is completed, the findings will be made public.