By Sue-Ann Wayow
CLAIMING absolutely no confidence in Attorney General Reginald Armour, Opposition Members of Parliament walked out on his contribution in Parliament on Monday.
Led by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the MPs were told to leave in silence by House Speaker Esmond Forde during the House of Representatives sitting on Monday evening.
Persad-Bissessar had finished her contribution to the Bills of Exchange (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
Armour spoke after Persad-Bissessar.
When he was introduced to the House as the next speaker, Persad-Bissessar could be heard saying “We have no confidence in this Attorney General.”
Forde instructed, “Please leave in silence. Please depart the Chamber in the usual fashion please.”
The Opposition exited before Armour began his presentation on the bill.
After he finished speaking, the Opposition returned to the Parliamentary chamber.
The Office of the Opposition Leader issued a press release following the Opposition’s exit from the sitting.
It stated, “The Opposition took this action because the evidence of Mr Armour’s unsuitability and unethical behaviour is crystal clear. The fact is Mr Armour lied in his statement in a United States court on penalties of perjury. In case Mr Armour is unaware, perjury is a felony.
“Given the serious allegations of perjury facing Mr Armour, the Opposition believes that he is unfit to continue to hold office as Attorney General.”
The release said that Armour, being of the titular head of the Bar as well as the head of the nation’s legal fraternity makes Armour’s silence on the allegations against him all the more concerning.
“If the Attorney General has no respect for the Constitution, which is the supreme law of our land, or the legal fraternity as a whole, then there can be no trust between the public and the nation’s highest legal officer,” the Opposition stated.
The Opposition again called for his immediate removal from office.
