PM Briceño Defends Courtenay Coye LLP

John Briceño

The Opposition has written to the Government of Belize under the Freedom of Information Act, requesting full disclosure on how much the government is paying Courtney Coye LLP in legal fees. PM Briceño defended the government’s decision to continuously retain the services of his ministers’ law firm arguing that they are the best in the business and as such enables the government to put its best defense forward.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“I am sometimes lost for words when people like Senator Michael Peyrefitte would ask these questions, because their hypocrisy knows no bounds. I could not remember him crying out when the affiliates of the Barrow administration, Barrow and Williams, Barrow and Company, Louise Barrow Young and others that are closely linked to the Prime Minster back then were being made millions of dollars. I don’t remember Michael Peyrefitte at any time screaming out that why is it that we are paying these people millions of dollars? So, their hypocrisy knows no bounds. But, as I said two days ago we have nothing to hide. We believe that the U.D.P. is taking out all of these cases simply to tie our hands, and we need to put our best defense forward possible. It is no secret that Courtenay and Coye is considered the best, the best I repeat, law firm. Michael Peyrefitte’s law firm him can’t clean their shoes. So, what do you expect of us, hire him to defend us against his boss, his party leader? We have to be real. Now they have asked for the information and we are going to make the information available. I have nothing to hide. I have asked the financial secretary to come up with a list to see what we have paid out, but for the Belizeans to see the work that they are doing but also for them to realize that we are spending all of this money because the U.D.P. and the former Prime Minister continues to take out case after case against the government.”