Prime Min­is­ter Stu­art Young has re­spond­ed to a bul­ly­ing in­ci­dent which oc­curred when he was a stu­dent at St Mary’s Col­lege 33 years ago.

Young has said in a state­ment that it is “deeply un­for­tu­nate” that the in­ci­dent oc­curred when he was a teenag­er but said he has “no in­ten­tion of min­i­miz­ing any­one’s feel­ings.”

He said in the state­ment that he is ful­ly com­mit­ted, as Prime Min­is­ter, to ad­dress­ing is­sues of bul­ly­ing in schools.

The fol­low­ing is Young’s full state­ment:

“The is­sue of bul­ly­ing in this coun­try is un­for­tu­nate­ly re­al and one that I take very se­ri­ous­ly as a fa­ther and now as Prime Min­is­ter of Trinidad and To­ba­go.

It is deeply un­for­tu­nate that an in­ci­dent which oc­curred when I was a teenaged school boy has resur­faced in a way that does not al­low for a full and fair dis­cus­sion.

This in­ci­dent was trau­mat­ic for every­one in­volved.

Peo­ple are shaped by their ex­pe­ri­ences and I have no in­ten­tion of min­i­miz­ing any­one’s feel­ings, even my own, on this mat­ter, some 33 years lat­er.

The pub­lic’s in­ter­est is not served by politi­ciz­ing an is­sue as sen­si­tive as bul­ly­ing, which de­serves thought­ful dis­cus­sion and mean­ing­ful so­lu­tions.

Let’s fo­cus on writ­ing the next chap­ter in which we work to en­sure that our schools are safe spaces where all chil­dren can feel pro­tect­ed and get the sup­port that is need­ed.

That is my com­mit­ment to Trinidad and To­ba­go.”