George Wright returned to the House of Representatives on Tuesday in a snub to critics as the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) bristled at the prospect of having the man accused of battering a woman with a stool sit on its side of the legislative chamber.

“It’s a sad day,” lamented Linnette Vassell, a gender consultant, in reaction to the news that Wright turned up at the afternoon sitting, cutting short his leave from the House which was due to expire in 13 days.

Vassell is among a coalition of more than 40 civic groups and individuals that have called on the first-time MP from Westmoreland Central to resign from Parliament.

“It is a big story about who we are and what we stand for. We can’t fall for this kind of behaviour. We can’t build the country, with all the problems that we have, on this kind of leadership. It is just wrong, wrong,” she said.

Wright has been ensnared in an assault scandal that erupted following the emergence of a video showing a man, believed to be the MP, battering a woman with a stool in Hanover on April 6.

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