OPPOSITION senators walked out of a sitting of the Upper House on Parliament on Friday after Senator Lambert Brown branded Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson a liar and was not allowed to continue his presentation.

The clash occurred when Brown was contributing to the debate on a Bill to amend the Road Traffic Act, during which he accused the Government of making what he argued was an inconsequential amendment to the constitution last week.

The Opposition senator questioned why the Road Traffic Act Amendment Bill contained reference to The King despite passage of an amendment to the constitution last week which proposed to remove reference to the United Kingdom monarchy from draft legislation in Jamaica.

President Tavares-Finson moved to clarify that the governor general had not yet assented to the constitutional amendment last week, and explained that the change in legislative enactment words would therefore not be reflected on Bills which were debated in Parliament this week.

Tavares-Finson went on to chide Brown for misleading the country on social media that the passage of the amendment to the constitution had no effect. The Senate president alluded to a tweet where Brown commented on the social media platform X.

“Can you explain why next Friday the Senate will debate two Bills with the same words keeping The King in our laws? Every law passed by Parliament under this Government will still be assented to by the GG on behalf of The King. Try and deny that,” Brown told minister responsible for information Senator Dr Dana Morris-Dixon on X.

When Senate President accused Brown of misleading the country on social media and in the Senate, Brown accused Tavares-Finson of being a liar.

“You are lying, President. You are lying!” Brown shouted.

TAVARES-FINSON… ruled that Brown breached Sections 30 and 41 of the Standing Orders

Tavares-Finson hit back, “The Bill that was passed to change the relevant clause has not yet been assented to by the governor general and that is why the Bill that you are having in your hand here has the whole enactment clause. So you go on social media and mislead the entire 80 people that follow you, and you come here with it this morning. Since you said that I’m a liar, right, I don’t have an issue with that but next speaker, because I’m not hearing you,” Finson commented as he shut down Brown’s presentation.

Tavares-Finson ruled that Brown had breached Sections 30 and 41 of the Standing Orders which forbid unparliamentary language in the Senate and use of derogatory words towards colleagues.

“In the exercise of the authority which is given to me to maintain order in the Senate, Senator Brown has not been allowed to continue his presentation having referred to the president as a liar on two occasions. The reference to liar refers to what I just read on social media, which was a post made by Brown. The post confirms that what I was saying was quite true,” Tavares-Finson reiterated.

The Senate president said he had intended to sanction Senator Brown, and chastised the Opposition for what he described as abandoning the people’s business.

The amendment to the Road Traffic Act was eventually approved in the Senate when all Government senators present voted in favour of passage of the Bill.

A Bill to postpone the holding of a by-election in Morant Bay, St Thomas, was also approved in the absence of the Opposition senators who had walked out of the chamber.