The Prime Minister has dismissed suggestions of political interference in the appointment of a Commissioner of Police as "mischief."

Commenting for the first time on claims that he was the unnamed public official who met with the then chairman of the Police Service Commission Bliss Seepersad at President's House on August 12 on the cusp of the Order of Merit List being submitted to the President, Dr Rowley said while he was a frequent visitor to President's House he was not getting involved in that "bacchanal story."

He responded to a media query on the issue during a vaccination drive in his Diego Martin West constituency on Saturday.

“I, unlike the last prime minister, I carry out my duty under the constitution. And that duty involves the oath of office I took and one of the things I’m required to do is to keep the President informed on the state of affairs in TT. So all the mischief-makers and the unmaskers and whoever else, they’re on their own with that. I keep the President informed, I keep the Cabinet informed, and I do my duty without fear or favour, malice or ill-will."

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has repeatedly called on the Prime Minister to say if he was the public official who stepped in to provide information to Seepersad which in effect derailed the process to appoint a substantive CoP.

There is conflicting information about whether the Order of Merit List prepared by the PSC reached the President's desk on August 12.

Former PSC member Roger Kawalsingh in leaked correspondence claimed Seepersad told him that she withheld the list after being provided with information she could not ignore by an unnamed public official but acting Director of Personnel Administration Corey Harrison has sworn on affidavit in the interpretation summons that the Order of Merit List was submitted to the President.

It was on the basis of the information provided by the public official that the PSC appointed retired judge Stanley John to probe the allegations based on a report commissioned by the National Security Council, of which the Prime Minister is the chairman, on the same issue. The police and the Police Complaints Authority are doing parallel investigations and the entire firearm unit has been shut down during the probe.

Officers assigned to the unit are reportedly assisting investigators as well as an internal audit.

John is also looking into the possible interference in the investigations against Christian Chandler, the head of the legal unit, who was intercepted by the Coast Guard and the Coastal and Riverine Unit on August 5, allegedly in breach of public health regulations.

That matter which was being investigated by officers assigned to the Western Division has since been reassigned to the Professional Standards Bureau.

Under Gary Griffith's three-year tenure, over 5,000 firearm licences have been issued, with about 100 for semi-automatic rifles, a stark increase of what previous CoP's approved with an average of 200 licences for pistols and shotguns a year.

The co