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Prime Minister Stuart Young has said that his intentions were pure when he made the offer of the $1 million ex-gratia payment to each of the families of the four deceased divers and to the lone survivor of the Paria tragedy Christopher Boodram.

Young yesterday responded to the barrage of criticisms that the timing of the Government’s decision—in the midst of an election campaign and three years after the incident occurred—was “shameless” electioneering.

He was speaking to reporters outside the Belmont Secondary School after filing his nomination papers.