At no time did he or any Tobago House of Assembly (THA) official promise compensation to the Greens, asserted Chief Secretary Orville London at a recent Post-Executive Media Briefing, as he refuted claims by Peter and Murium Green that the Assembly agreed to compensate them as crime victims. However, the Tobago House of Assembly and the Central Government spared no expense to ensure that the Greens received the best medical care and necessary support.
Mr London said his only interaction with the Greens occurred immediately following their hopitalisation at the Mount Hope Medical Complex, following the attack on their lives on August 1 2009.
“When we went to the hospital Mr Green was in an induced coma so that there was absolutely no way by which we could have communicated with him. His wife although she could have spoken – remember that that is somebody who had gone through a very serious traumatic experience…. Mr Williams and I would have held discussions with her. But most of the discussion would have centred on Mr Green and what could be done to ensure that Mr Green’s life would be saved and what could be done where she was concerned, so as to ensure that the best medical treatment could be given to her. … In a situation like that, would you believe that we would really have a discussion where you are talking about in one room a gentleman in ICU hovering between life and death and his wife seriously injured? Do you think that that is the environment and the atmosphere in which compensation will be an issue?
The Chief Secretary said the Greens’ claim that the promise was made when Mr London visited them accompanied by his wife is untrue, since he along with the Secretary of Tourism and Transportation made the visit.
“I want to indicate that it is Mr Williams and I who went to Trinidad and I don’t think that Mr William looks anything like my wife and to even insinuate that my wife was present there is again another anomaly that is quite embarrassing.
He emphasised that the Greens’ received priority care and that he along with Tourism Secretary Williams and then the Ministers of Health and Tourism were genuinely concerned about the Greens and paid special interest in their case.
Mr London said the THA paid to bring to Trinidad and accommodate both Mr Green’s son who spent three weeks and Mrs Green’s sister close to two weeks. What’s more, when it was time for the Greens’ to return to the United Kingdom the Government of Trinidad and Tobago paid for the Air Bus to transport Mr Green. “We wanted to ensure that the progress that was made that nothing could be done in any way to undermine that progress.”
Secretary Williams concurred with Mr London’s statement, adding that the Division’s Trauma Unit took up the Green’s case immediately following the attack.
“All of the arrangements in terms of having all the relatives come, in terms of liaising with the British High Commission, in terms of liaising with the Police, and all other things was done by the Trauma Unit. The Officer has been in touch with their circumstance, and has been available to provide all the support that was necessary to them and to their relatives who had come to be with them.
“It was a situation in which we would have done everything that is humanly possible to treat with the Greens and their circumstances at the time, to ensure that they had the best possible care and attention in the time of that very traumatic situation.”
The Chief Secretary added that the Trauma Unit of the Division of Tourism and Transportation was instrumental in ensuring that Mr Green’s son was placed in a position where the recommendation could have been made for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Unit. According to information in the Press Release, application for such compensation for Mr and Mrs Green are awaiting the consideration of the Board.