Leader of Government Business in the Lower House, Barry Padarath, has accused Parliament’s Broadcasting Unit of bias after claiming that the microphones of Government members were being muted during the Standing Finance Committee meeting on Friday night.

At around 9:30pm, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Sean Sobers was being questioned by Opposition MP Stuart Young on a request for supplementary funding for the Ministry.

However, the exchange descended into banter over an item in the supplementation, with Minister Sobers accusing MP Young and the Opposition of failing to address key issues during their decade in office.

During the exchange, MP Padarath alleged that Minister Sobers’ microphone was being deliberately muted, allowing Young to continue speaking uninterrupted.

The matter quickly escalated, with Government MPs maintaining that the alleged muting of their microphones was not a new issue and had previously been raised with Parliament’s Broadcasting Committee.

The sitting was eventually suspended for 10 minutes by House Speaker Jagdeo Singh after members on both sides of the Chamber engaged in a heated exchange.