Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar has again de­fend­ed Hous­ing Min­is­ter and Ca­roni Cen­tral MP David Lee, af­firm­ing that he re­mains a mem­ber of her Cab­i­net de­spite mount­ing calls for his re­moval fol­low­ing his re­lease on $1 mil­lion bail on fraud-re­lat­ed charges yes­ter­day.

Re­spond­ing to ques­tions from Guardian Me­dia via What­sApp hours af­ter Lee se­cure bail, Per­sad-Bisses­sar made her po­si­tion clear, say­ing, “Min­is­ter Lee con­tin­ues to be the Min­is­ter of Hous­ing.”

Per­sad-Bisses­sar’s sup­port for Lee came even as Op­po­si­tion Chief Whip Mar­vin Gon­za­les called on Prime Min­is­ter to “do the ho­n­ourable thing” and im­me­di­ate­ly re­voke the min­is­te­r­i­al port­fo­lio of Lee, fol­low­ing the crim­i­nal charges that were re­laid against him on Tues­day.