VETERAN Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member of Parliament, Pearnel Charles, has accused leadership aspirant Audley Shaw of deception in seeking to escape blame for the calling of the December 2011 general election.

“Mr Shaw in denying that he was a part of calling the election is dishonest, because the election was called because of reports Mr Shaw gave about the economy,” Charles Charles alleged Tuesday night at a meeting of JLP delegates in St Ann’s Bay.

“He confessed that, unless an election was called, he might not be able to put a budget together without massive taxation. At that stage the decision was taken to go to the people for a mandate, because of the hardship that the next budget could cause,” Charles further claimed.

“It was on this account that Andrew Holness advised the country that bitter medicine was coming.

“It was Mr Shaw’s reports that caused the calling of the election at that time, and he is being dishonest if he does not admit to it, and to deny that the election was called after his reports, or as a result of his assessment of the situation, is an attempt to mislead the delegates and the country,” Charles stated.

Charles also accused the Audley Shaw election team of practising deception, by declaring Tuesday that James Robertson and Delroy Chuck have newly joined the team.

“Both Robertson and Chuck had long declared their support for Shaw. In the case of Mr Robertson, this support was reported in the media and denied by Robertson,” Charles said.