Senator Abka Fitz-Henley has dismissed as propaganda a claim by Opposition counterpart Lambert Brown that 30 per cent of Government lawmakers in the Senate are dual citizens.

Brown made the claim in the Upper House of Parliament on Friday as he criticised statements made by the governing party about Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s admission that he’s a British citizen and that he will not be rushed into renouncing the status.

“It is the hypocrisy. It is the hypocrisy of calling out one for being a dual citizen, but embracing 30 per cent of your own, 30 per cent of your own who are dual citizens. Thirty percent in this chamber,” Brown said.

However, Government Senator Fitz-Henley accused Brown of being mischievous.

“That claim is best interpreted as Senator Brown’s usual propaganda. Look, we have never said that dual citizens are not to be allowed to sit in the parliament of Jamaica. Ultimately, that’s a call for the people of Jamaica to make where we have been strong. Is that someone who aspires to assume the awesome power of prime minister of Jamaica or the de facto PM should not be in a situation of split loyalty. That is inappropriate and quite frankly, a dangerous position to put the country in,” Fitz-Henley said in a statement following the sitting.

Fitz-Henley said Brown should address what he argued is the hypocrisy of Golding’s handling of the British citizenship controversy.

“What Senator Brown should do is to advise his leader to stop insulting the people of Jamaica by saying that he has to ponder, temporize, agonize and be emotional about deciding whether to fully commit his citizenship to Jamaica only,” Fitz-Henley commented.