The fallout from the United Kingdom’s (UK) decision to impose visa requirements on T&T nationals has escalated into a public spat between Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds and National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader Gary Griffith.
British High Commissioner Jon Deen announced on Wednesday that T&T citizens will no longer qualify for travel under the Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme. Instead, those wishing to enter the UK must apply for a visa through the British High Commission in T&T.
In response, the NTA issued a statement blaming the development on the Government's failure in diplomacy and proactive national security measures, specifically targeting Hinds.
Speaking at the NTA's People's Assembly in Mt Lambert on Wednesday night, Griffith doubled down as he accused the Government of failing to maintain British-mandated security measures at Piarco International Airport as the key reason behind the UK’s decision. He called the policy shift an “embarrassment,” arguing that the UK no longer saw T&T as being on par with other visa-exempt nations.
Recalling his tenure as Minister of National Security, Griffith said he faced a similar issue when then-High Commissioner to the UK Garvin Nicholas informed him that Britain was considering visa restrictions for T&T. In response, Griffith said he travelled to London multiple times to meet with UK government officials, who raised concerns about drug trafficking through Gatwick Airport and Caricom nationals using Piarco as a transit hub to enter the UK.
Following those discussions, the UK provided a list of security measures that needed to be implemented, including establishing an Organised Crime and Narcotics Unit at Piarco, reintroducing the National Operations Centre, deploying canines at airports, appointing UK security advisors, and enhancing training and technology.
"Every single thing they asked for, we were able to do the impossible, and that prevented us from having the visas imposed. That is the type of leadership we want, and we were able to stop it while the other countries had visas imposed. Ten years later, every single thing that we put in place to prevent those visas—you shut it down," Griffith said.
In a Facebook on Wednesday, Nicholas- who is now leader of the Movement for National Development, supported Griffith's claims.
In the post Nicholas said: "To be clear, 2010 to 2015 not only did we preserve the visa free access to the UK, we extended it to all of the Schengen Europe."
Hinds, however, dismissed Griffith’s claims as "pure fictitious imagination." In a scathing Facebook post on Wednesday evening, he referred to Griffith as "Garrulous G-String" and denied that any such security threat or discussion took place in 2014.
"Either that, or he is trying to outdo Calamity Jane for factually deficient concoctions, intended to mislead the unthinking and big-up dey self," Hinds wrote.
He also mocked Griffith’s credibility, suggesting he would fit well among the nation's creative minds, comparing him to the late calypsonian The Mighty Spoiler.
Hinds said the UK imposed visa requirements when criminals and other individuals attempted to flee there to evade justice, which had led to a surge in asylum applications from T&T nationals.
"The unfortunate announcement was made. In jumps G-String, dental-floss style, who had a mere 14-month corbeau-sweat in that ministry, after Calamity Jane rolled over six ministers, to claim that in 2014 when he was minister, he negotiated with the UK and did a thousand wonderful things to avoid the British imposition of a visa requirement on T&T," Hinds said.
Responding to Hinds’ remarks yesterday, Griffith labelled him "not only the most incompetent minister ever but also a blatant liar."
He explained that under the People’s Partnership administration, concerns about UK visa requirements were communicated directly to the Ministry of National Security—not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"At no point has the UK’s recent position on imposing visa restrictions on T&T been a mystery. This announcement is a perfect demonstration of Hinds’ incompetence and the culmination of months of his failure to address the issue," Griffith said.
He claimed there were verifiable records proving that the UK had raised concerns in the past and that the previous administration took specific actions to address them.
Griffith also accused Hinds of ignoring the UK’s security concerns and instead deflecting blame while misleading the public.
"Instead of addressing the real issue—his failure to prevent the UK from imposing visas on T&T nationals—Hinds has chosen to engage in gutter-level personal attacks, complete with juvenile name-calling and inappropriate conduct for one who holds the office of Minister of National Security. His pathetic response only confirms his ignorance of his own ministry’s records, his failure as a leader, and his inability to deal with serious matters like an adult," Griffith said.