Lawrence

Sara Lawrence, Miss Jamaica World 2006 and Miss World Caribbean, who is expecting a baby in September, will be able to keep her titles, which she relinquished earlier this week, if she so desires.

This development comes as Julia Morley, the chairman of Miss World Ltd., the company that stages the Miss World Contest, said she will not be stripping Sara of her Miss World Caribbean title.

"Julia strongly supports Sara and has no intention of stripping her of the Miss World Caribbean title leaving it up to me, she has strongly hinted that she would like me to do the same with the Miss Jamaica title," Mickey Haughton-James, Miss Jamaica World franchise holder said yesterday.

Touched by stance

"I am very touched by the stance taken by Julia Morley and we are both unified in our decision to have Sara keep her titles and to give her our full support even if she decides to stick by her decision to relinquish her duties," he added.

In a statement on Wednesday, Miss Lawrence said she was relinquishing her position, having taken a personal decision to face up to her responsibilities of being a mother.

Mr. Haughton-James said Ms. Lawrence made an "error of judgement" and is now facing up to the consequences.

"She is a warm, compassionate, kind, caring girl and I truly believe that we must accept that she has made her statement with grace and truth. It is not for us to in any way condemn her but to give our full blessing and to assist and support her," Ms. Morley said in a letter to Mr. Haughton-James.

She continued: "Since she is pregnant, she needs our love and good wishes which she certainly has from all of us here. I have no intention of removing her title. I think we should all stand together on this matter and while this obviously is not a normal situation, it would be ridiculous not to realise these things do happen and we must realise that in the 21st century it is more likely to happen."