JLP slams MP Angela Brown Burke for handling Parliament's mace during NaRRA Bill sitting

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has issued a strong rebuke against Member of Parliament for St Andrew South Western, Angela Brown Burke, over her decision to touch the ceremonial mace during a sitting of the Committee of the Whole House. The committee had been working through clauses of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill at the time of the incident.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the governing party described the incident as a serious procedural offence. "Removal of the mace is a clear breach of the Parliament's Standing Orders and tantamount to disorderly conduct. It is widely known across the Commonwealth that touching or interfering with the mace in a parliamentary committee sitting is a severe breach of parliamentary privilege and etiquette, typically resulting in immediate suspension, removal from the chamber and possible disciplinary action," the JLP said.

The party explained that the mace stands as a symbol of the authority of the Speaker and the wider House, meaning that any tampering with it amounts to contempt of Parliament.

The JLP further alleged that Brown Burke at first refused to comply with an order to exit the chamber after Speaker Juliet Holness named her and suspended her for the remainder of the sitting. That initial refusal, the party said, also ran afoul of the Standing Orders.

JLP Communication Chairman, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, did not hold back in his criticism. "MP Brown Burke's conduct in disrupting the sitting of the House of Representatives is unacceptable and a disgrace. Her action was a clear attempt to disrupt the business of the Parliament, which was in the process of treating with a Bill, which is crucial to assist Jamaicans to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa," he said.

Fitz-Henley also took aim at the People's National Party (PNP) members who, he said, physically obstructed Brown Burke's exit from the chamber. "The stance taken by Brown Burke's colleague PNP (People's National Party) MPs, who stood and blocked her departure from the parliamentary chamber, despite it being clear she was in the wrong, confirms that the PNP cannot be trusted to treat with the business of the people in an appropriate manner. It is no surprise that Opposition Leader and PNP President Mark Golding did not immediately act to ensure that Mrs Brown Burke comport herself in an appropriate manner," he added.