File photo: Independent Senator Anthony Vieira, SC, left, with former prime minister Stuart Young, centre, and Orville London. AZP News/Azlan Mohammed

By Aicia Chamely

INDEPENDENT Senator Anthont Vieira is refering to Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the United National Congress (UNC) Dr Kirk Meighoo as a “bull in a China shop.”

This was after Meighoo slammed Vieira and other Independent Senators for not supporting legislation brought by the UNC government.

In his latest salvo, Meighoo said Vieira was a disgrace to Parliament and the President’s bench. Meighoo accused Vieira of being “shameless bias” at Monday’s Upper House debate on the Prime Minister’s Pensions (Amendment) Bill.

In response to Meighoo’s latest attack, Vieira said he was now weighing his options, contemplating having Meighoo brought before Parliament for contempt and bringing criminal proceedings against him.

Referring to Meighoo as a “bull in a China shop,” Vieira said, “I am concerned, not just for myself, but my fellow Independents- as such I am weighing my options, including: hauling him before the Privileges Committee for contempt of Parliament, and bringing criminal proceedings against him for breach of Section 10(b) of the House of Representatives (Powers and Privileges) Act.”

He added, “The constant enduring effort to cast a certain narrative—that’s propaganda, it’s pathetic and disgusting.”

Speaking to AZP News on Wednesday, Vieira said, “The tone and content of the commentary have been intimidatory, with suggestions that if we vote in a certain way we should face public excoriation —this is unjustified, unwarranted and, in my view, misguided.”

The Bill, which sought to set a time frame of tenure that must be completed for one to collect the Prime Minister’s pension, passed in the Upper House with a three-fifths majority on Monday.

Viera voted against the Bill arguing it was ad hominem, strictly targeting former Prime Minister Stuart Young, stripping Young of his right of property that was assumed upon accepting the position.

Young was the only former Prime Minister affected by the Bill, as the retroactive date was March 10, 2025. Young was appointed Prime Minister on March 17, 2025 and only served 42 days in the position.

In a scathing statement posted on social media Meighoo condemned Vieira stating, “His childish behaviour and shameless bias has done irreparable damage to the credibility of the Senate.”

Calling him a “disgrace to Parliament and the President’s bench,” the Meighoo stated, “Senator Vieira did not merely express disagreement with the Bill — which is his right — he claimed that its passage would “undermine the rule of law,” “undermine parliamentary integrity,” and “should not be contemplated by any government with respect for the rule of law.”

Meighoo questioned whether Vieira was accusing “Parliament of undermining the rule of law and Parliamentary integrity.”

Taking a jab at Vieira’s argument on the day, Meighoo said, “Senator Vieira’s arguments wandered into the arcane territory of ancient Rome in 18 BC and medieval England, to bolster his argument that even if a law may be unjust, it must be obeyed.”

He said Vieira’s justifications against the bill were not “legal wisdom” but rather “tone-deaf elitism and eat-ah-food-ism.”

Meighoo said, “The Senate is supposed to be a chamber of sober reflection, untainted by reckless distortion, personal vendettas, or hidden partisanship. Yet Senator Vieira has used it repeatedly to fight the UNC and protect PNM privilege, in addition to venting in the media.”

He closed saying, “We call on all right-thinking citizens, civic groups, and media houses to recognise Senator Vieira’s conduct for what it is — a dangerous erosion of the credibility of our democratic institutions, and a betrayal of the public trust placed in the independence of the President’s bench in the Senate.”

Meighoo stirred controversy over the weekend when he accused Vieira and other independent senators of being biased against the UNC and urged them to side with the government on the passage of the Bill.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday at the UNC headquarters, Meighoo targeted Vieira saying he was “a vocal critic of the UNC when in opposition” and had been the recipient of numerous legal briefs under the PNM government.

On Monday before the debate, President of Senate Wade Mark spoke out against what he described as “harassment, intimidation, or attempts to shame Senators how they vote or pressure them to vote in a particular way” and said it would not be tolerated.