KINGSTON, Jamaica— Attorney Isat Buchanan apologised for and recanted the sexually explicit comments he made about Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn in a recent YouTube programme.

Buchanan shared a statement to his social media accounts on Tuesday where he expressed deep regret for quoting a sexually explicit lyric by Vybz Kartel in reference to Llewellyn.

“I have considered the statement I made on a YouTube channel I was co-hosting extensively. Though I am a believer in free speech, I do recognise, now more than before, the importance of preserving public civility and mutual respect on how we engage with each other as a society. My comments and use of the song reference are indeed unfortunate, and for that, I unequivocally apologise,” he wrote.

“I specifically wish to indicate to Ms Llewelyn that I deeply regret this and I am truly sorry. Advocating for freedom of speech and expression does not stand mutually exclusive with demonstrating exemplary decorum throughout public channels,” he added.

Following his comments, Buchanan resigned from his post as Chairman of the People’s National Party (PNP) Human Rights Commission, after Gender Affairs Minister Olivia Grange had urged PNP President Mark Golding to “immediately” fire the attorney over what she called “misogynistic, crude, nasty, sexist, low and disgraceful language in reference to the country’s chief prosecutor.”

READ: Buchanan resigns as PNP human rights chairman after crude remarks about DPP

“He believes that resigning is in the party’s best interests, as the remarks in question do not reflect the values of the People’s National Party,” the PNP had remarked in a release.

Since last week, there has been a political brouhaha over the move by the Government to amend the constitution to increase the retirement age of the DPP and the auditor general (AuG) from 60-65 years. Despite objections from Opposition Members of Parliament and senators, the Government used its superior numbers in the Parliament to pass the legislation.