Patterson

Angered by inaccurate media reports surrounding his arrival on a private chartered flight a week ago, former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has begun exploring legal options against the media houses he believes maligned him.

Yesterday, Patterson issued a statement announcing that he has retained the services of Knight, Junor and Samuels as his attorneys-at-law. The two paragraphs explained that the law firm will be providing legal representation to Patterson "in light of media reports surrounding the arrival of a private chartered aircraft at the Norman Manley International Airport on the night of Thursday, May 14, 2009".

Meanwhile, Danville Walker, commissioner of customs, admitted that operational errors were made on the day of Patterson's arrival.

Mistakes made

"Mistakes were made on May 14, 2009, but certainly calling for advice from your superiors or from the Government's legal offices was not one of them," Walker said in a release issued yesterday.

The customs boss defended the officers on his Contraband Enforcement Team (CET), noting that a police report submitted to Prime Minister Bruce Golding did not accuse them of leaking any information to the media.

"This is an important point but especially so in the field of national security," Walker noted.

K.D. Knight, senior partner at Knight, Junor and Samuels, told The Gleaner/Power106 News yesterday that his firm was currently reviewing the facts of the case.

"By next week, we will certainly take the first step," he said.

Depending on the outcome of the review, the responsible media house(s) will be contacted.

"Depending on how that goes, we will move to the next stage," Knight said.

The former prime minister sought to make it clear that his decision to mount a legal offensive was not taken lightly.

"Based on a thorough review of the available evidence, I have instructed the firm to initiate and pursue on my behalf whatever legal proceedings will secure the full remedies to which I am entitled," read the closing paragraph.

On Wednesday, the Office of the Prime Minister made public the contents of the police report on the matter. Investigations done by the police found that several of the claims being circulated in the media about what transpired on the night of Patterson's arrival were untrue.

Officials received info

The police report established that prior to the landing of the aircraft, security officials received information that a quantity of foreign currency was concealed in a secret compartment of the aircraft. However, it stated that the tip did not include any reference to the identity of the passengers.

The report also stated that a search of the aircraft was conducted in the presence of the crew but after the passengers had disembarked and proceeded to immigration and customs at the General Aviation Centre (private wing) of the airport.

No foreign currency was found on the aircraft, the report stated while pointing out that the passengers, who also included executives from Digicel, were processed and departed the airport without incident or interruption.

tyrone.reid@gleanerjm.com