AGGRIEVED former Senator Dennis Meadows, in the face of a call from the Jamaican Parliament that he “immediately withdraw his allegations” that it colluded with his detractors by withholding a document exonerating him from claims that he was among officials of the Firearms Licensing Authority (FLA) who granted gun permits to convicts and shady individuals, says it is Gordon House that should apologise to him and family.

Meadows, a former board member of the FLA, walked away from the JLP in 2022 after a war of words with FLA CEO Shane Dalling, who named him as one of several officials who granted gun permits to people with criminal convictions or adverse traces.

Meadows, on Sunday, after getting the nod to run on an Opposition People’s National Party ticket, questioned why, following the tabling in the Parliament of a special report on the investigation into the allegations, dated January 2020, an accompanying report from the director of corruption prosecution of the Integrity Commission (IC) that exonerated him, though submitted to the Parliament, was not tabled.

According to Meadows, he was of the view that the speaker of the Houses of Parliament, the clerk of the Houses, and the president should explain to him and the public what caused the report to be kept off the table of Parliament. That report had examined aspects of Meadow’s tenure at the FLA and called into question his alleged conduct.

Wednesday, the Parliament, in rebutting, dismissed as “categorically false” the assertions by the former senator. It said following an examination of the records at hand, it could categorically say that a report, entitled ‘Special Report of Investigation: Allegations Concerning Acts of Impropriety, Irregularity and Corruption in the Issuance of Firearm User Licenses to Persons of Questionable Character’, was received by Parliament on February 24, 2022 and tabled in the House of Representatives on March 8, 2022. It said the referenced report was subsequently tabled in the Senate on March 25, 2022.

Gordon House further said that along with the aforementioned report, it received a cover letter dated February 22, 2022 which was signed by executive director of the Integrity Commission Greg Christie. It said on March 8, 2022 Christie’s letter was also tabled in the House of Representatives along with the report sent prior. Furthermore, the Parliament said the cover letter was subsequently also tabled in the Senate on March 25, 2022.

The Parliament added that it had at no time received any report on the matter written by Director of Corruption Prosecution Keisha Prince-Kameka. It noted further that subsequent to the physical tabling of the report and cover letter, the Parliament, following the instructions in the cover letter from the Integrity Commission, uploaded all the contents of the USB flash drive received from the Integrity Commission to the Parliament’s website and distributed same electronically to stakeholders.

Thursday Meadows in a response to the Jamaica Observer said, “I’ve checked both the IC and Parliament’s websites and see no postings of the Greg Christie letter referenced in the statement. Since hard copies are no longer ‘tabled’ we all rely on what is available online. I certainly don’t see the need to ‘immediately withdraw’ anything.

“My position remains unaltered as it relates to how I perceive the failure of the Parliament to give the cover letter, clearing me of unsavoury allegations, equal prominence as the FLA report, further, against the background of a Government that has often demonstrated a propensity to be vindictive, oppressive, and repressive,” he stated.

“My family suffered greatly during the episodes of allegations and I must be afforded the latitude to express my thoughts, favourable or unfavourable. My name was dragged through the mud by members of the media who were working in concert with the government functionaries. They broadcasted and sensationalised gossip and innuendos as factual news,” Meadows noted further.

Continuing, he said, “Decency demands that the Parliament via the Clerk of the Houses of Parliament apologise to my family and I for the emotional and reputational injury suffered.”

He further said the Integrity Commission “bears no blame in this matter”.

” The IC submitted its ruling as far back as Feb 22, 2022, and they did their job. While I stand aggrieved by the IC, I, however, consider it a necessary evil for Jamaica, a country with an unflattering corruption perception. They don’t always get it right, but their job is absolutely necessary,” Meadows stated.

He, in the meantime, pointed to what he believes is a sharp difference in the treatment of the ruling of the director of corruption prosecution at the IC that no charges would be preferred against Prime Minister Andrew Holness earlier this year.

Director of Investigations at the Commission Kevon Stephenson had referred a report to the director implicating the prime minister in an alleged conflict of interest after he concluded that Holness may have influenced the awarding of millions of dollars in government contracts to the company of a business associate.

“My ruling is more conclusive and exonerating than that of the prime minister. His ruling was that the statute of limitations had passed and therefore it could not stand a challenge of abuse of process. In other words, there is evidence but the time has passed. Mine says, looking at the evidence there is no basis for a challenge,” Meadows contended.

The ruling, dated February 13, 2023, said in relation to conflict of interest allegations against Holness, “with additional material being made available, which investigations have failed to contradict or provide more evidence in support of the offences contemplated, no criminal charges can be laid”.