KINGSTON, Jamaica— Disgraced Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) MP George Wright can no longer sit on the Government benches in the House of Representatives at Gordon House.

Speaker of the House, Marisa Dalrymple Philibert, informed the members at the start of today’s meeting less than an hour ago, in a statement which she read on behalf of Women in Parliament on Violence Against Women (WPVAW), which represents women on both sides of the aisle.

Dalrymple Philibert told the House:

In relation to matters alluded to last week, I can report that the Member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland is proceeding on Leave of Absence from this Parliament. Further, I have been advised by the Leader of the House that the said Member of Parliament for Central Westmoreland will no longer sit in the JLP Government Caucus and as such will not be under the control of the Government’s whip”.

Her statement was well received by both sides, after which Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been speaking on the issue of domestic violence since.

Pressure has been mounting on the Government to expel or suspend Wright, a newcomer to Parliament since the September 3 general election which his party, the JLP, gained majority. However, the Standing Orders of the Parliament does not allow Parliament or his party to remove him from the House.

Wright was captured on a video which went viral showing him hitting a woman, with whom he was in a fight, with his hands and a stool. The police dropped the case after both subjects refused to cooperate with the investigations. The Opposition and the Government have been at odds on how to treat the issue resulting in a pre-House meeting this afternoon which set back the sitting by more than an hour.

Wright, however, will still be able to sit in the chamber, but cannot participate in meetings as a member of the JLP.

Balford Henry