Fitz-Henley and Scott-Mottley in heated Senate exchange over alleged threat

Government Senator Abka Fitz-Henley and opposition member Donna Scott-Mottley clashed during Friday’s sitting of the Senate after Scott-Mottley accused Fitz-Henley of making a threatening comment.

Fitz-Henley accused his colleague of dishonesty, saying: “That... is a bold-faced lie and I'll urge her to retract it.”

Senator Scott-Mottley dismissed the demand, insisting Fitz-Henley “knows what he said.” She added, “It leaves no impact on my soul because it can only hurt or demean me if it comes from somebody who I hold in high regard".

Senator Charles Sinclair, who was presiding at the time, told the chamber he did not hear the alleged remark. He also warned members against making muttered or off-mic comments that he may not hear and cannot later rule on.

Scott-Mottley then left the chamber.

She had indicated that she would leave the sitting early because of a personal matter, and said she had asked Fitz-Henley to present before her so she could respond.

"Since he has threatened to assault me in the chamber ...with his words, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith," she said.

Johnson Smith is the leader of Government business in the Senate.

Scott-Mottley told her that "I did not intend to convey as she interpreted that it was a physical threat".

Later on in the sitting, Fitz-Henley criticised Scott-Mottley for saying the Government was seeking to avoid tabling the Integrity Commission's annual report by having Parliament break early for the summer.

"The suggestion that the administration was moving to terminate the parliamentary year to circumvent the tabling of a document by the Integrity Commission... is a bare-faced lie; It is false and it must be called out for what it is," he said.

The Integrity Commission's annual report for April 2024 to March 2025 was tabled on Friday.

Tensions between Fitz-Henley and Scott-Mottley date back to at least September 2023, when Fitz-Henley, during a political event, referred to Scott-Mottley as “a twist-up mouth one,” prompting backlash from the PNP Women’s Movement.

The group condemned the remark as derogatory and called for a public apology. Fitz-Henley later retracted the comment and offered an apology, telling the Jamaica Observer that it was intended as a response to what he described as a “vitriolic attack” by Scott-Mottley.

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