PNP cleared Blake, not Integrity Commission

Parliamentary hopeful Peter Blake says he is yet to be informed about his hearing by the Integrity Commission of the People’s National Party (PNP).

Contrary to an article published in The Gleaner on Monday which bore the headline ‘Blake Cleared by the PNP Integrity Commission’, the St Andrew businessman did not give the impression that the Integrity Commission has made a pronouncement about him.

The clearance, which Blake spoke of, was said to have been conveyed to him by PNP General Secretary Paul Burke on Saturday.

“The call that I got said that the Party had now cleared me or concluded that I had no integrity issues, no issue of truth and no issue of character. I have been cleared on those three fronts and he promised to supply me a letter,” Blake said.

Asked if the party has done it as a result of the meeting with the Integrity Commission or they have done it on their own, Blake responded, “I don’t know.”

“I would imagine that after three weeks … that finally some process, which I would imagine would have to involve the Integrity Commission, had been arrived at where that would have been what they concluded from that process,” Blake said.

Blake faced the Integrity Commission on October 9, five days after he defeated sitting Member of Parliament Damion Crawford in an internal selection to be the PNP’s standard bearer in East Rural St Andrew for the upcoming general elections.

On Sunday, Blake told The Gleaner that he has received word from a high-ranking member of the party that the PNP has no issue with his character.

Blake was asked to make way for Crawford in 2007 as the PNP candidate for East Rural St Andrew.

Heading into the recent internal run-off, he wrote to party general secretary Paul Burke requesting that the integrity commission convenes a meeting with him before the race with Crawford because he was the subject of negative campaigning.