MINISTER in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Barry Padarath says a potential security risk at the Prime Minister's Official Residence and Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's is preventing Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar from using this venue as her office as an alternative to Whitehall in St Clair.

He made this comment to the media outside Persad-Bissessar's private residence in Philipine, South Trinidad on May 7.

Members of the cabinet have daily been meeting with Persad-Bissessar at her home, to take instructions, after the presence of mould and a flooded basement at Whitehall – the Prime Minister's official office – led to that venue being deemed unfit for use.