VETERAN legislator Olivia “Babsy” Grange on Sunday fired the latest salvo in the bitter verbal joust between the Government and Opposition over last week’s bust-up in the Parliament, saying she is disturbed by the “unacceptable” conduct of some Opposition members and urged a return to respectful behaviour in the House.

“How can a serious Opposition defend the derogatory remark, expletive, and insult hurled by Member of Parliament (MP) Mikael Phillips at MP Desmond McKenzie as Mr Phillips pushed members out of the way, advanced towards Mr McKenzie, and had to be restrained by other Members who wisely considered that a physical altercation would have even more severely damaged the standing of the House in the opinion of the public?” Grange said in a statement.

“Who could have ever imagined seeing the shocking physical assault on Speaker Juliet Holness and the blocking of the aisle as she exited the chamber by MP Angela Brown Burke who also screamed at the Speaker and called her a coward? I saw this transpire and remain disturbed. This conduct by member Brown Burke is unacceptable and should be appropriately addressed. As chairman of her political party, Dr Brown Burke ought to set a better example,” Grange added.

At the end of last Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives a heated exchange erupted between Phillips and McKenzie as Holness was leaving the Chamber.

Phillips had directed strong criticism at the speaker, prompting McKenzie to intervene and urge him to remain respectful. The exchange soon escalated into a verbal confrontation, drawing the attention of several parliamentarians.

In the aftermath of the fracas, McKenzie alleged that he told Phillips that he would not like it if anyone spoke to his mother in the manner in which he had spoken to Holness. He also said that in response Phillips made a derogatory comment about him and his mother.

The following day Phillips apologised for his use of an expletive during the confrontation and accused McKenzie of making an offensive remark about his deceased mother.

Since then both sides have been trading barbs with the Government also highlighting video showing the incident involving Brown Burke and the speaker.

On Sunday, Grange said both Holness and McKenzie “showed tremendous restraint in the face of unwarranted attacks”.

She pointed out that she was sitting immediately beside McKenzie “and never did he utter anything inappropriate about Mr Phillips’s mother. I would not have sanctioned him saying anything like that.”

Added Grange: “These scenes have rightly offended the nation which is looking on in disbelief as the Opposition attempts to defend what is indefensible.”

She said that over the past few years she has been moved to comment on behaviour in the country’s politics, “particularly in our Parliament where the conduct of some Opposition members has been deplorable. I’ve been urging members in my Sectoral Debate presentation and on other occasions to cool it.”

Grange said it is accepted that Parliament is a place where “robust exchanges will take place from time to time, and that is good, provided that the exchanges are constructive and do not include personal or physical attacks”.

She reminded that in her 2024/25 Sectoral Debate she had said: “There will always be differences, but we mustn’t allow them to harden into anger and disrespect. As the mother of the house, and someone who was a political prisoner who was exiled from this country, I know how far we fell and how far we have come in our politics. That is why I am concerned about some of what I hear and see in our political discourse. Today I say, let us choose to act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another.”