By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

DEPUTY FNM leader Loretta Butler-Turner is demanding full disclosure of the costs associated with Prime Minister Perry Christie’s trip to Sri Lanka, London and the Vatican.

This comes after angry members of the public asked the government to explain why in hard economic times, public money was used to send such a large group with the Prime Minister, and why he made so many stops in addition to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Commenting on www.tribune242.com, readers also asked whether Leslie Bethel, son of PLP advisor Sir Baltron Bethel, was travelling as a part of the PLP’s contingent, reported to be around 30 strong.

Sir Baltron was himself part of Mr Christie’s team, but his son represents RAV Bahamas, the foreign company that owns the controversial Bimini Bay project.

Both Bethels were photographed with Mr Christie outside the five star Savoy Hotel in London, following one of two dinner meetings held at high-end restaurants in that city. The other meal was at the Ritz Carlton.

Yesterday Mr Christie’s representatives in Nassau could not confirm whether or not Leslie Bethel and others seen in the photographs had travelled with the Prime Minister. The group returns to Nassau today.

For her part, Mrs Butler-Turner criticised the Christie administration for its “excessive spending of public funds to travel the world” despite repeatedly stating that the country is in a poor financial condition.

The former Social Services Minister also lambasted the government for sending an unnecessarily large contingent to accompany Mr Christie as he attended CHOGM.

“The government said that they were going to CHOGM,” she said, “then the next thing we know, all sorts of side trips were coming up.

“To me, it’s as though this administration is going around as if money is not a problem because they certainly aren’t demonstrating that we are in financial straits.

“Along with that they have all kinds of people with the Prime Minister. How many heads of government do we have is the question?”