PNP Women’s Movement demands removal of Heroy Clarke as deputy house speaker
Vanassa McKenzie / Our Today
Patricia Duncan Sutherland, president of the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Women’s Movement, is calling for the removal of deputy house speaker Heroy Clarke from his current role for allegedly making defamatory statements about the wife of Opposition Leader Mark Golding and the origin of their relationship.
Clarke has been accused of making the statements in a WhatsApp group consisting of some 300 members recently.
Golding has since threatened to take legal action against Clarke, with his solicitors writing to the deputy house speaker last Friday (June 7), requesting that he provide a written apology to Golding in a newspaper of island-wide circulation by Monday.
Duncan Sutherland, in a statement on Tuesday, said the comments by Clarke attacked the personal lives of the opposition leader and his wife.
“When people offer themselves for leadership in the current environment, there is great sacrifice from their families. For the holder of the esteemed office of deputy speaker of the House of Representatives to engage in an attack like this on another parliamentarian is totally unacceptable. We must expect more and demand more of our politicians; we must raise the bar,” Sutherland said.
The PNP Women’s Movement president said the deputy house speaker is expected to be impartial and command the respect of fellow parliamentarians as he guides the business of the country’s legislature from time to time.
“We are therefore appalled that Clarke has failed to publicly apologise for his damaging actions, despite being given the opportunity to do so by the Leader of the Opposition. This situation is untenable, as there can no longer be a reasonable expectation that Clarke can carry out his duties with the decorum required of the office. We are calling on [Prime Minister Andrew] Holness to relieve him of his duties as deputy speaker,” Duncan said.
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