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It seems over the top but the opposition leader defended his position today in an impromptu press briefing at the Municipal Airstrip:

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"To be fair to me it was the speaker of the house is the one that read my email to her, wasn't even an official letter. I'm telling you..."

Jules Vasquez
"Its a response to an official communication Mr. Barrow."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"I hear you, but I have responded to official communications via email and I have been corrected on many instances that it needs to go on my letterhead. Notwithstanding, I standby what was said. My response was totally in order. The speaker of the house is not a dictator. She is not the head of state. This is a democracy. Speakers and opposition leaders historically throughout our region are always in court, always in disagreement and the theme is always an accusation of bias. So it should be no difference in this instance."

"If the leader of the opposition submits a no confidence motion way days ahead, you really think that it is respectful that it is responsible to respond to the leader of the opposition in the negative the night before the sitting of the house? This is prudent, that is mature democracy. That's the same old PUP. How could anyone say that it is slander and it is defamation for me to draw the reasonable conclusion that a former PUP senator, former PUP women's member, former PUP candidate is doing anything but cow towing to the government, bowing to the pressures that put her there."

"Now, had the speaker been elected by the people of this country and had a history of being an independent actor or a non-affiliated, then I could see maybe more people getting outage as to the allegations and accusations, but my opinions are in order. I spoke to the members of the parliamentary. The UDP parliamentary caucus we will be making a statement later, because we all feel like this."

Reporter
"Belize Network of NGOs has come out criticising you as being disrespectful and I think they're saying you're being disrespectful to a woman. Will this matter end up in court, because it does appear that you will be hall before that committee, but there has to be a motion for that to happen first."

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"Respectfully, the hypocrisy of the BNN, when the member from Orange Walk South told the member from Alberts to go sit on a carrot in a farm, BNN said nothing. The United Women's Group of the PUP said nothing. The speaker, when it was brought to her attention through a letter from the member from Alberts, did nothing. She had a lot to say on Friday. She did nothing when the matter was brought to her by myself and other colleagues in the house, she said oh well it's up to the member to do what he wants to do. She did not say that he should go before a privileges committee. So, in my opinion the speaker and her supporters are acting privilege. They are acting entitled. They are acting as of they are superior. The rights of Valerie Woods are no more than Tracey Panton. In our democracy if the opposition feels aggrieved we must call that out and I have absolutely no regrets for calling out what the UDP feels has been a pattern of bias treatment."

Reporter
"You don't think it lack de-quorum from member parliament to speak to another human being in the manner that you did? Like, could you have said it differently?"

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"There is no other term to describe the speaker than as a "waste of time." She has wasted my time; she has wasted the members of the opposition time and it is not us. We represent the people of this country. I don't represent Shyne Barrow. I am a proud representative of all of the garrisons, not just Mesopotamia - all of the constituencies, all 31. As the opposition leader, I was just re-elected. Nobody elected her. So when you want to tell me that I am supposed to have reverence for the authority of the speaker, no. She should have equal reverence for me and when she does not, when she diminishes the statua of her chair, then that has to be called out. We have been discussing it to boycott the house, because the behaviour by the speaker is not where you go there. I could understand why Sista B doesn't go to the house, because when you go to the house, you prepare for the house, you write your speeches, you prepare your motions, you want to participate in democracy and then you have a speaker there that in my opinion and the opinion of all of the members of the UDP that I've spoken to is blocking is, is shielding the government."

We did reach out to the Speaker for comment - but at news time - had not gotten a response.

Barrow also commented on the harsh words which the Prime Minister had for the independent members of the special select committee:...

Shyne Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
"So why all the outrage now? Why all of sudden BNN got voice when this morning the prime minister was one a news station, one of the media houses saying that the NGO senator was foolish for driving the motion that would investigate him and investigate Erwin Contreras and all the members dealing with the Portico agreement, said that she was foolish and imputing improper motives in the fact that it was she that wrote the motion, that is some special interest that wrote that motion."

"So where is the BNN? Again, he has a right to his criticism, he has a right to his opinion."

7News has confirmed that the chair of special select committee is Janelle Chanona.