The issuance of a press release from the Office of the President stating the suspension of Integrity Commission deputy chairman Gladys Gafoor is now the subject of contention.

On Thursday, the release was sent out to the media from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Communications, Information Division, with the Ministry's letterhead and subject "Tribunal to appoint and investigate complaints from members of the Integrity Commission".

The release from the Information Division, the Express understands, was an edited version of the original release dispatched by the Office of the President.

Yesterday, the original release from the Office of the President, with the President's letterhead, unedited, was sent to the media.

Enquiries by the Express found that the mistake occurred on Thursday after the Office of the President sent out the release to the Information Division to distribute to the media, and an employee of the Division took it upon herself to edit the President's original release and send it out under the Ministry's letterhead.

Contacted yesterday, executive assistant to the President Lennore Dorset confirmed to the Express that the release that was sent which bears the letterhead of the Office of the President was the original release that should have been sent out to the media in its original form on Thursday.

Both releases bear the same information. However, their format and wording were different.

The original release informed that President George Maxwell Richards, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution enabling him to do so, appointed with immediate effect a tribunal comprising Justice Michael De La Bastide (chairman) and members Justice Humphrey Stollmeyer, Justice Maureen Rajnauth Lee with counsel to the commission Reginald Armour, SC, to enquire into complaints made by members of the Integrity Commission that Gafoor engaged in certain conduct.