(Jamaica Observer) Tivoli Enquiry chairman Sir David Simmons on Thursday refused to apologise to Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Daryl Vaz for putting into the public realm unsubstantiated information from a police diary alleging that fugitive Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke and his family sought refuge at Vaz’s house while the Tivoli ‘don’ was on the run in May 2010.
“I find it ironic, to put it at its lowest, and certainly not in congruence with common sense, that I should be pilloried by Mr Vaz and asked to apologise to him for having his name and reputation cleared and vindicated,” said Simmons at the start of Thursday’s enquiry at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.
“In the circumstances, of course, I do not apologise to Mr Vaz; there’s nothing to apologise for. His name and reputation had been cleared by that evidence yesterday. He should be grateful it came in,” Simmons added.
But in response to Simmons’ refusal, Vaz told the Jamaica Observer that there is nothing to be thankful for, because the unsubstantiated information Simmons made public had been away in a police diary. Vaz said that Simmons, a Barbadian, does not understand the Jamaican society, noting that once the information came out there would be some people who would always hold the unsubstantiated information to be true.
