Opposition walks out of Parliament after clash with House Speaker

The Opposition has walked out of Parliament after accusing House Speaker Juliet Holness of preventing members from asking questions of Water and Environment Minister Matthew Samuda.

Samuda made a statement to the House this afternoon, updating the public on Tropical Storm Melissa and the preparations being undertaken by the Government.

Opposition MP for St Mary South Eastern, Christopher Brown, sought to ask Samuda about previous landslides and outstanding payments to contractors but faced pushback from Holness and some Government MPs. They argued that he was asking questions unrelated to Samuda’s statement and not in keeping with Parliament’s Standing Orders.

Each time Brown attempted to ask the question, his microphone was cut off, and he was reminded by Holness to observe the Standing Orders.

Opposition members came to his defence.

Julian Robinson, who also attempted to ask a question of Samuda, was stopped in his tracks, and his microphone was cut off.

Opposition MPs, including Opposition Leader Mark Golding, disagreed with Holness and pressed for questions to be put to Samuda.

However, Holness would not relent, reiterating that the questions were not in keeping with the Standing Orders and would not be allowed.

Golding and other Opposition MPs accused Holness of unfairly shutting down members on their side, and they walked out of the House to jeers from the Government bench.

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