Rodney Chin, one of three persons charged in connection with the Cuban light-bulb project, makes his way from a police service vehicle to the holding area of the Half-Way Tree Court yesterday.

Senior members of the People's National Party (PNP) spent a lot of time yesterday trying to come up with a response to the biggest scandal to hit the party in many years.

Kern Spencer, a PNP Member of Parliament, is facing prison term after being arrested for his role in the Cuban light-bulb programme.

Robert Pickersgill, the party's chairman, said that the PNP has taken advice from its legal team. He said the leadership of the party will meet again today to continue deliberations about the fate of its former state minister and his North East St Elizabeth constituency.

Last night, PNP sources said the leadership of the party accepted that the PNP's image had been tarnished.

The sources said the leadership was trying to craft a response that not only satisfies party members who are angry over what they describe as the abandoning of Spencer, but one which convinces a sceptical public that its claim that it does not endorse corruption is a serious one.

Several party members at the PNP's Old Hope Road headquarters yesterday evening were adamant that Spencer was being targeted, and they were unwavering in their support for him.

On Tuesday, hours after news broke that Spencer and two others had been charged, the PNP said it wished "to reaffirm its stance against any involvement in acts of corruption and firmly believes that the rule of law should always take its course".

According to the PNP, it was reasserting its commitment to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.

"We also continue to examine the circumstances whereby the adherence to these standards could have been weakened or compromised," the PNP said.