Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has hit back at her critics who charge that her decision to proclaim a state of public emergency was done without consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

In a statement to the media yesterday, the Prime Minister said contrary to claims by the print media, she had dialogue with Bruce Golding, the Opposition Leader, on Saturday and Sunday.

She said while the Opposition Leader's comments were noted, the constitutional responsibility and authority to make a decision in the matter was vested in the Prime Minister.

During a Jamaica Labour Party press briefing yesterday, Mr. Golding said he had audience with the Governor-General and expressed his objection to the move. According to Mr. Golding, Professor Hall was "appreciative of his concerns".

Mrs. Simpson Miller argued that she had "no hesitation in accepting full responsibility for that recommendation".

Not an afterthought

She dismissed an editorial which stated that the proclamation was issued "as an afterthought", contending that her decision was made after the "most careful and extensive consultations and discussions with heads of the security forces and other agencies".

According to the Prime Minister, the state of public emergency was declared following reports of looting and attempted looting in both rural and urban areas.

She also said there was exchange of gunfire between criminal gangs and "further reports of sizeable groupings of armed criminals sighted in sections of the Corporate Area".