Former Housing Minister hits back at PM: "Leave me out of your drama"

Former housing minister Emily Gaynor Dick-Forde slammed the People's National Movement's (PNM) Women's League for what she described as "political slander" and called on government to reassess its priorities before attacking former leaders and office holders.

Her comments came from a scathing post on her Facebook account today.

Responding to a release by Hazel Manning, the widow of former PNM political leader Patrick Manning aimed at addressing remarks by Prime Minister and current party leader Dr Keith Rowley, Dick-Forde denies she told the former PM of any missing money and said the remarks were part of an ongoing political feud spanning more than a decade.

"Leave me out of your drama and get cracking on the serious work of national governance and development! I shall consider if to respond to the trite and pitiful release by the Women's League of the PNM also slandering my name, in due course. It may be a legal response."

Referring to a copy of the Hansard from Parliament's Budget Debate on September 2008, Dick-Forde said Rowley attacked Manning without cause and accused Rowley of attempting to re-ignite a feud with his predecessor.

"The current prime minister attacked his leader in Parliament and after PM responded in detail to all of the corruption allegations leveled at him, he hit the Diego Martin MP a hard lash that seems to still be smarting 10 years later. You attack the man in Parliament and you are upset that he clapped back!"