Inquiry found no evidence

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell said a report of a Commission of Inquiry has found no evidence to support claims that he received a substantial sum of money from his former trade ambassador during a trip to Europe a few years ago.



The 83-page report, carried out by prominent Barbadian jurist Sir Richard Cheltenham, was handed over to the Governor General\'s office last weekend, seven months after the conclusion of public hearings.



Mitchell had consistently denied that he had done anything illegal, after the opposition parties called for an investigation into a 2004 article that claimed he had received money, for granting a diplomatic posting to German businessman Eric Resteiner.



Addressing a political meeting over the weekend, Mitchell quoted from the report, which explained why he was not called as a witness despite appeals from the opposition for him to testify.



He was also critical of the opposition shadow Finance Minister Nazim Burke over his recent claim that the Governor General\'s office had received the report since last September, but was withholding it from the public.