Michael Peyrefitte says Philipa Bailey is not a UDP Trustee

A week after Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton was elected as the new interim leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) at a convention called by the Alliance for Democracy, she and many of her supporters arrived at the UDP headquarters on Youth for the Future Drive, demanding access to the building. Panton said she was armed with a legal right to claim the office after she had received a letter from Phillipa Bailey, the trustee for the headquarters building.

However, following the series of tense events at the headquarters, a statement was addressed to Commissioner of Police Chester Williams. In it, Secretary General Shari Medina on behalf of Party Chairman Michael Peyrefitte stated that Phillipa Bailey “is NOT, and has never been, a Trustee of the United Democratic Party.” According to Peyrefitte, the government transferred the land for the headquarters to the UDP on June 16, 2010. At that time, according to Peyrefitte, Bailey was the Secretary General and the appropriate signatory, but she resigned in February 2013 and was asked to return all party assets.

The faction led by Moses “Shyne” Barrow stressed that they “are the sole owners of the property” and that Bailey cannot transfer rights she no longer holds. Peyrefitte noted that according to the UDP Constitution, anyone managing assets must do so at the direction of the Central Executive Committee, which has not authorised any changes regarding these assets.

UDP Deputy Chairman Alberto August has filed a police report concerning the ‘breaking and entering’ of the UDP headquarters.
Panton told the media yesterday that Medina is no longer the Secretary General and announced that Lyn Ross had been appointed as the new Secretary General after an “urgent meeting” with her central executive committee on Saturday.