Former Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning has been suspended following a finding of contempt by the Trinidad Parliament’s Privileges Committee. Manning had been criticizing the government of current PM Kamla Persad Bissessar, claiming that it was undermining anti-drug efforts enacted by his administration. Manning had also made allegations concerning the building of Bissessar’s private residence. The eight-member Privileges Committee submitted its report on the allegations, to which Manning refused to respond. Parliament voted 25 to nine to accept its findings. “Mr. Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning is accordingly suspended from the service of this House with immediate effect,” said Speaker Wade Mark. Manning is in fact the longest-serving member of Trinidad’s House of Representatives. [Nation News]