Solicitor General Nigel Hawke has denied resigning from his post.
Stabroek News reported yesterday that Hawke resigned with immediate effect on Wednesday following a meeting with Attorney General Basil Williams.
The meeting took place shortly after Court of Appeal judge Rishi Persaud rebuked Williams for glaring errors in documents submitted to the court regarding government’s applications for orders to stay judgments on the no-confidence motion that was passed against it.
However, a statement issued yesterday by the Ministry of Legal Affairs reported Hawke as saying that the Stabroek News report was “misguided and far from the truth.” It added that 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.
While attempts to contact both Williams and Hawke for comment were unsuccessful on Wednesday, two independent sources had confirmed his resignation to this newspaper.
“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 ministry statement said, while noting that Hawke was not involved in the filing of the matters in the Court of Appeal.
Stabroek News regrets the error and apologises to Mr Hawke for any inconvenience caused by the report.
