Works Minister Jack Warner yesterday called on President George Maxwell Richards to revoke the appointment of chairman of the Integrity Commission Dr Eric St Cyr.

Warner has criticised St Cyr for saying Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar should have stayed at a hotel instead of the private residence of her good friends, the Gopauls.

On Thursday, he called on St Cyr to resign. Yesterday, he went a step further and wrote two letters—one to Richards, asking that St Cyr's appointment be revoked, and another to St Cyr, requesting that he resign.

The members of the Integrity Commission are appointed by the President in his sole discretion and can only be removed by him, exercising his presidential prerogative.

Persad-Bissessar's stay at the Gopauls' house has been called into question since the family's company, Gopaul and Co, has won the bid for a $40 million National Petroleum (NP) transport contract.

In the letter to Richards, written in his capacity as chairman of the United National Congress (UNC), Warner said: "His premature pronouncements on the use of an alternative residence by the Honourable Prime Minister is not simply a lapse in judgment but rather a clear manifestation of an open bias that seems to favour not just the People's National Movement but its current leader, the Honourable Dr Keith Rowley."

Warner stated it was the second time a lapse in judgment by St Cyr had "provoked the ire of the national community", and it was the second time his pronouncements seem intended to give credibility to statements made by Dr Keith Rowley.

Warner stated one would have expected "greater prudence and discretion" from one who holds such an esteemed position, but his lack of restraint is both "deadly and dangerous" to the social and peaceful development of the national community which the Government was seeking to cultivate.

"Since Dr Eric St Cyr has failed on not one occasion but two, in less than one year, it appears, therefore, that he lacks the ability to appreciate the importance of dispensing opinions in a manner that instils confidence in the national community. As leaders, we have no other alternative than to do the right thing and demand the revocation of Dr Eric St Cyr's appointment to the position of chairman of the Integrity Commission," Warner said in the letter.

"His premature statements were untimely and baseless because based on his own volition, he admits that they were without investigation and made in the absence of knowledge. If this is what passes for integrity, then I wish to remind you of the words of Samuel Johnson, who opined that 'Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless'," Warner added.

In his letter to St Cyr, Warner said: "What, for me, is most disturbing is the fact that your actions demonstrate a clear conflict of interest, and what is even worse is that as the official spokesperson for the Integrity Commission, one cannot be sure...that your opinion is not the collective opinion of the commission, and for this compromise alone, Dr St Cyr, your resignation will be most welcomed."

As he called on St Cyr to use "whatever integrity is left in you to do the right thing and, in dignity, demit office", Warner concluded: "You have failed to live up to the high standards expected of your office or to enhance its reputation, which is constantly under threat. The only reasonable alternative is for you to submit your resignation as chairman of the Integrity Commission to our esteemed President."