The Solicitor General attached to the Chambers of the Attorney General Nigel Hawke has denied reports that he resigned on Wednesday with immediate effect following the Court Appeal matter regarding the no-confidence motion.
Hawke on Thursday responded to an article carried in the Thursday edition of the privately owned Stabroek News titled ‘Solicitor General Resigns’.
“However, Mr. Hawke has stated that the report is misguided and far from the truth. He expressed his disappointment that the newspaper failed to adhere to the basic journalism ethics and standards of fact-checking its information prior to publication,” a statement from the AG’s Chambers noted Thursday.
The article, which Mr. Hawke believes was intended to create mischief, stated that: “Shortly after returning from court, he [Hawke] was locked in a closed-door meeting with [Attorney General Basil] Williams for about 15 minutes. Reports are that the former magistrate who spent some time in Belize emerged from the building with his belongings and left the area in a taxi. A vehicle had been assigned to him.”
According to the statement, Hawke said that the “belongings” seen with him were his usual bag of books.
“Furthermore, he left the building in a taxi with his brother and it is not the first time that the vehicle assigned to him has been left at the office. Mr. Hawke regrets that the article, which went viral, has caused much trepidation to his family.”
“He also regrets that there was some form of linkage drawn to the issues which arose on Wednesday during the appeal challenging the ruling of the High Court in the no-confidence motion cases.”
The AG’s Chambers made it clear that Hawke was not involved in the filing of the matters in the court of appeal.
“He is calling on the newspaper to issue a public apology and recant the article or he will be caused to seek legal advice.”