By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

DAMIAN Gomez, State Minister for Legal Affairs, yesterday denied that the sudden resignation of the government’s top prosecutor was the result of political interference.

Mr Gomez confirmed to The Tribune that former Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham-Allen has accepted another job in the region, a move he said was “wise” given the slim likelihood of her reappointment.

“She has gone on to greener pastures,” Mr Gomez said. “She hasn’t received any (political) pressure from me, or the department. I’m not aware of it.”

He added: “We are pleased with her performance, and we are pleased that she has sought an alternative. We have talent here and we’re trying to promote that.

“She has decided to leave early, her contract is coming up in any event next year. She would have been wise to do so as she did, in all likelihood we would have chosen to appoint a Bahamian.”

In May, reports that Mrs Graham-Allen had taken a three-month long vacation fuelled rumours of tension within the Office of the Attorney General over her tenure. Speculation heightened last week with the announcement from the government that the country’s top prosecutor had tendered an early resignation after returning from holiday.

On Friday, FNM Chairman Darron Cash said his party was not surprised by Mrs Graham-Allen’s departure and suggested that political interference may have caused her to leave her post.

“What does surprise me is that she lasted so long working for a government that was so obviously pushing for her to fail,” Mr Cash said. “Her early departure confirms what we have heard all along, that this ‘kisses-go-by-favour government’ has very little commitment to an independent DPP.”

The former Ingraham administration’s decision to appoint the Jamaican attorney in 2010 was met with scathing criticism by the Progressive Liberal Party, then the official opposition.

Former Deputy DPP Cheryl Grant-Bethell filed an application for judicial review over her failure to be appointed director of the department after serving as deputy for nine years.

Senior Justice Jon Isaacs refused to overturn Mrs Graham-Allen’s appointment to the post of DPP; however, he noted in his judgment that the Judicial and Legal Services Commission “failed to treat her (Grant-Bethell) fairly and that the advice tendered to the governor general (not to appoint her) was flawed because the JLSC considered material they should not have had in their contemplation when they purported to do so”.

Shortly after the Christie-led administration took office in 2012, Prime Minister Perry Christie said he planned to conduct an independent review of then Deputy DPP Cheryl Grant-Bethell’s application for the post.

Yesterday, Mr Gomez said: “We (the Progressive Liberal Party) were concerned about the process that led to the appointment of a foreigner, when we became the government we were faced with a fait accompli. She was already appointed and we had no interest in terminating her contract and incurring extra liability for the government, so we worked with her.”

He added: “I have no views one way or the other (on possible candidates), whoever is considered will be considered on a competitive basis.”

Mrs Grant-Bethell recently stated that she would still consider the post if the position was made available; however, she noted that she had moved on with her life.

She spoke to The Tribune in May at a ceremony to introduce successful candidates of the 2013 Arbitration Course, and install officers and executive members of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Bahamas Branch.