I was never involved

FORMER National Security minister Gary Griffith yesterday distanced himself from reports that he was involved in a data-mining project, involving former research director for Cambridge Analytical Christopher Wylie, and said he never paid any company to engage in any such activity.

Griffith contacted Newsday via email yesterday and referred to a story published on Sunday in which it was reported that he was the minister identified in the project which involved monitoring the searches of citizens. He said he and his wife former Congress of the People (COP) chairman Nicole Dyer-Griffith were on a cruise and were unable to take calls to address these allegations and dismissed the claims as “false and misleading.”

“His (Wylie’s) proposal had to do with accessing crime data so it can be analysed to then have the appropriate security response to crime scenes. Mr Wylie never referred to me as being the minister involved in such activity. Additionally, I never engaged, contracted or paid any such company in any such project whatsoever.”

Despite this, Griffith said he was not entirely opposed to the project’s aims and purpose. He said such instruments would be valuable tools in the hands of the government to monitor and prevent serious crimes. Citing the success of such practices in other countries, he said while there were some concerns monitoring of private citizens’ web searches, the searches would be monitored by the Interception of Communications Act to prevent abuse.

“The security of the many outweighs the confidentiality of the few who wish to harm the many.

As it pertains to Intelligence gathering for a State. As is done in most countries, electronic monitoring to acquire data of “illegal activities” is accepted and something that I would support and endorse, as such monitoring is critical to suppress terrorism, pre-meditated serious crime, child pornography etc.

This is also catered for and is legal.”