PAM Member of Parliament Richards apologises after ‘disrespectful’ remark

Hon. Shawn Richards in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon

ST. KITTS, MARCH 26TH 2010 (CUOPM) – Speaker of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly, Hon. Curtis Martin stopped short Thursday afternoon of throwing out the Hon. Shawn Richards, MP (St. Christopher 5 – PAM) from the lawmaking body, for the second time in the last five months.

On Wednesday, the Speaker demanded that Mr. Richards immediately withdraw a remark he made during his budget presentation to a government-appointed senator that no one had voted for him.

“I will name you the next time. The next member that said that, I am going to name him myself and ask them to leave the Parliament immediately… on any side of the house.. Full stop,” said Speaker Martin.

“This is disrespectful. It is. So Honourable Member for St. Christopher 5, I wish that you withdraw that please and before you move on,” said the Speaker.

“I did not mean to insult the Hon. Senator opposite. I do apologise, Mr. Speaker,” said MP Richards, one of two elected PAM representatives in the National Assembly. Richards represents the Sandy Point/Fig Tree community.

Last November, Speaker Martin cited Richards for disrespect and also threatened to throw Political Leader of the opposition People’s Action Movement, Mr. Lindsay Grant, the Party’s National Spokesman, Mr. Chesley Hamilton and another party member, Mr. Slieh Boncamper, who were in the Visitor’s Gallery, for disrespecting the lawmaking body.

He also cited the People’s Action Movement (PAM) Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher 5, the Hon. Shawn Richards for disrepectfully and unparliamentary disrupting Prime Minister Douglas.