OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles says the government's declaration of a state of emergency (SoE) on July 18 is evidence that the UNC has no crime plan and has waved a white flag of surrender early in its tenure in government.

Beckles, who is currently in the US visiting with members of the Trinidad and Tobago diaspora there, made this comment in a statement on July 18.

Referring to statements made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Attorney General John Jeremie in justifying the need for the SoE, Beckles said, "What the nation is seeing is a government that has panicked and one that is hiding behind the TT Police Service (TTPS). What we are seeing is not leadership, it is a galloping slide into authoritarianism. What we are witnessing is an alarming admission of failure."