Criticism has been levelled by Gary Griffith after former Senate President Timothy Hamel-Smith and former PNM Minister Karen Nunez Teshiera jumped a fence in a bid to attend Basdeo Panday’s funeral at SAPA.

The politicians, who have started a new party called HOPE, claimed they were not invited yesterday and were being ignored.

Mr Griffith, leader of the National Transformation Alliance, said people cannot expect to ask for a chance to lead and serve a country while acting in what he has deemed an “irresponsible manner.”

He noted that he too was not invited but handled the situation differently: “I did get an opportunity to pay my respects however, as I attended the wake and also signed the condolence book along with the NTA Executive and other members of the NTA party. But what I would not do however, is go where I am not invited, which is why I had no intention of jumping over railings, as those days for me were decades ago when I was a teenager ‘storming’ house parties.”

Mr Griffith also recounted that Mr Panday was critical to his political career, saying, “Upon my resignation from the military, Mr. Panday appointed me as an Opposition Senator. He also appointed me to the UNC’s executive and handpicked me as the candidate for the St. Joseph constituency, before the split that birthed the Congress of the People.”