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In his first political act as Prime Minister yesterday, Stuart Young delivered a shocker with the appointment of veteran politician Camille Robinson-Regis as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.

Both Young and Robinson-Regis took their oaths of office at the President’s House in front of an audience that included Government elected MPs and senators, among them Dr Keith Rowley (who demitted office at midnight Sunday) and his wife Sharon, PNM stalwarts Ashton Ford and Ferdie Ferreira, Chief Justice Ivor Archie, House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George, a number of state board chairmen like Michael Quamina, Noel Garcia and Ronnie Mohammed, Young’s parents Richard and Priscilla Young and his two sons, Eric and Ethan Young.

Young’s taking of the oath was received with applause. However, there were audible gasps of surprise from the audience when Robinson-Regis’ name was called to take the oath as Attorney General. A collective look of shock was evident on the faces of many of the ministers of the Rowley Cabinet, whose appointments were automatically vacated the moment Young had taken the oath and received his instrument of appointment from President Christine Kangaloo. Robinson-Regis herself said she was shocked when she received the call from Young “a few days ago” inviting her to become the Attorney General.