No Apology from Frederick

By
Elijah Anatole
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136

Friday morning, loyal listeners of the Radio 100FM show, “Can I Help You?” with Castries Central MP Richard Frederick were disappointed when they tuned in to only hear hits from the 80s being played over the airwaves. The show had mysteriously disappeared.
Could the show being off the air have something to do with the developments over the last week?
At a press briefing held on Tuesday Housing Minister Stanley Felix stated he had instructed his legal representatives to issue letters to former Housing Minister and current MP for Castries Central, Richard Frederick and Radio 100FM demanding an apology for statements made by the former minister on his Friday morning program.
On last Friday’s show and without giving away his source, Frederick had referred to suggestions made on a Facebook post two weeks ago and offered more information on the matter.
For his part the new Housing Minister said Frederick’s statements on his talk show that morning were false and rooted in political mischief. Felix said he was at first fully prepared to ignore and laugh off the statements seeking to connect him to a rape conviction in the US.
“I am as clean as Jesus Christ,” he had said.
But speaking on his Radio 100 program last Friday, Richard Frederick called this statement from Stanley Felix, “ludicrous, absurd . . .  hinging on the edge of being mentally deranged.”
Felix made his initial “I am clean” statement after the Facebook post went viral.
Richard Frederick says after hearing about the Minister’s response he conducted a three hour search into the matter on the internet.
Felix says the repetition of the rumour, which has defamed his character, has led him to address the matter. He further stated he is prepared to defend his character both publicly and in the court of law.
Felix has a long history in the US where he attended state university in New York from 1982–1987. From 1998 to 2001 he completed his masters in the US before moving to England to study Law.
Felix had given both Richard Frederick and Radio 100 forty-eight hours to issue an apology and retraction. Failing this the minister has made it clear he will initiate legal action for defamation and possibly criminal libel.
Yesterday, Radio 100FM issued apologetic statements throughout the day retracting the comments made by the show’s host but up until press time, no word had come from Frederick complying with the request from the Housing Minister. As for the disappearance of Frederick’s regular show on Radio 100FM, the Castries Central MP declined comments on the matter.
It is not clear now whether Felix’s legal representative will proceed with the matter in court as attempts to confirm with Felix’s attorney, Peter Foster, proved futile.
Speaking to Radio Caribbean yesterday Felix acknowledged the Radio 100FM apology.
Said Felix: “They have apologized profusely and they have said unequivocally that the statement by Richard Frederick and broadcast over Radio 100 were totally false and malicious and as such that they apologize and disassociated themselves from the statement.
“In terms of Richard Frederick, he too I would like to apologize. Thus
far he has not apologized and he too has not been on his Can I Help You? talk program, which is a condition for foregoing a lawsuit against Radio 100.”
As we go to press however we have been reliably informed by those close to the case that legal action will not be taken against Radio 100FM since they have issued a public apology.

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