KINGSTON, Jamaica — Leader of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) Dr Peter Phillips says the party, like all of Jamaica is “deeply shocked and saddened by the untimely passing of Ian Boyne.”

The veteran journalist and deputy chief executive officer of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) who was recuperating for some time after he was rushed to the University Hospital of the West Indies on Saturday, December 2, died this morning.

“Over many decades, Ian Boyne has enriched Jamaican journalism and maintained the highest traditions in the profession. Through it all, he has exemplified a love of country and carried a deep concern about quality of life of the ordinary Jamaican people,” said Phillips.

He added that Boyne was able to, in a socially polarised and publicly divisive environment, maintain good relations with all segments of the Jamaican society, regardless of political and social status and in so doing, he was able to epitomise what it meant to be a true Jamaican. “Ian Boyne was not afraid to ask searching questions, without being disrespectful.

He was able to capture the passions of the Jamaican people, without allowing those passions to expose them to ridicule. “

“His contribution to Jamaica and the development of the nation will not be erased and we applaud him for his outstanding work. The PNP, and I in particular, offer condolences to his family, his colleagues and the wider journalism fraternity,” said Phillips.