PNP general secretary Campbell reaches private defamation settlement with JLP's Robertson and former MP Lawrence

People's National Party General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell and Jamaica Labour Party MP James Robertson, together with former JLP MP Aubrey Lawrence, have settled a defamation lawsuit that had moved close to its trial date. The agreement was announced after both sides signalled they were ready to resolve the matter rather than proceed in court.

Campbell's attorney, Sheena Stultz, said the legal teams remained prepared throughout and kept every option open until a settlement emerged as the most practical course. She confirmed the terms are private and declined to disclose them.

Speaking after the agreement, Robertson said his focus is on the future and on putting family first. He described himself as a positive person who accepts the cut and thrust of democratic politics and does not measure relationships in monetary terms. He recalled reaching an earlier settlement with former PNP figure Maxine Henry Wilson, with whom he said he now shares close, long-standing ties.

Robertson also pointed to personal gestures that mattered more than any payout, noting that colleague Easton was present at his mother's funeral and that they had worked through that loss together. He said the past is behind him and that he intends to move forward.

Campbell said he was relieved to put the dispute behind him and stressed that he bears no hostility toward Robertson. The two were political opponents who attended the same high school and were sometimes mistaken for each other. Campbell said he is always learning from experience and may adjust how he handles public exchanges, but he can only be himself.

He also addressed a separate friction involving comments linked to James Hanna and a newspaper photograph, saying the parties sat down, talked through the issue, and reached an understanding that included an apology tied to the published image.

Both men described recent public interaction as genuine reconciliation rather than performance. Campbell urged Jamaicans to read the outcome as proof that hard-fought campaigns need not become permanent personal feuds. He said his real opponents are the social problems facing the country, including poverty, weak infrastructure, gaps in health and education, and broader injustice, not members of the opposing party.