Cabinet minister and Member of Parliament for Portland Western Daryl Vaz is demanding an apology from Queen’s Counsel Valerie Neita-Robertson for what he described as defamatory statements made about him on her Twitter page.

Vaz is also demanding that the tweet be removed, that a retraction of the imputations contained in the tweet be settled between Neita-Robertson and himself before being issued by 4:00 pm next Monday and that she “pay damages in a sum to be agreed or assessed by the court”.

Vaz’s demands are outlined in a letter sent by his attorneys Beecher-Bravo Hanson & Associates to Neita-Robertson dated July 15.

“We have been instructed that through a publication made by you through your Twitter page @Neita4You you maliciously and intentionally made defamatory statements aimed at our client. The specific tweet was made on July 12, 2020 at 12:36 pm,” the letter signed by S Tennyson Hanson stated.

“Your tweet has been retweeted extensively and has been, and remains a live topic of discussion throughout Jamaica and the diaspora, and have caused well-thinking individuals to think less of our client and view him with less than satisfactory regard,” Hanson stated.

“Our instructions are to proceed to take such action as we deem fit to protect our client’s reputation, including suing for defamation, malicious falsehood, and tortious interference with commercial arrangements should you not fulfil the demands made herein,” the attorney stated.