A growing political conflict between Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Senator Malaka Parker has taken a sharp legal turn, with Browne confirming that his legal team is pushing him to launch a defamation lawsuit after Parker allegedly labeled him a paedophile during a public verbal exchange.
Browne made the revelation during an appearance on his own program, the Browne and Browne Show, this past Saturday. He detailed that his legal counsel has formally advised him to preserve all digital and public records of the incendiary comment, and has repeatedly pressed him to move forward with formal legal proceedings.
“My attorneys have insisted that I sue Malaka. They’ve asked me to screenshot everything and to save everything,” Browne told listeners of the program.
Though the prime minister has not yet signed off on a final decision to file the suit, he made clear that the allegation crossed a line that separates acceptable political critique from harmful, legally actionable speech. Browne argued that Parker, who holds a professional law degree, should have been fully aware of the serious legal ramifications of making such a false public claim. He described the comment as a deliberate, reckless overstep rather than an unplanned remark amid political tension.
Browne acknowledged that harsh criticism, mockery, and banter are inherent parts of competitive political life across every nation, and that politicians must accept ridicule as a standard part of public service. But he stressed that public figures engaging in heated debate must maintain a baseline of responsibility to avoid making false, reputation-damaging statements that meet the legal definition of defamation.
“Not convinced I should. But I mean, I’m under some pressure from my attorneys to sue her because I feel that she ought to have known better and it is deliberate,” Browne said. “You can’t escape ridicule in politics. It is part of the game. It happens in every country. But you have to mature enough to know that when you respond, that you don’t respond with statements that are defamatory.”
Calling out Parker’s particular professional background, Browne added: “For somebody who did a law degree, she also knows better.”
The prime minister also referenced a prior legal conflict centered on identical allegations, recalling that he previously brought a defamation suit against another public figure who made the same false claim about him on a public radio broadcast. “The last person who called me a pedophile on radio, I took him to court,” he said.
During the program, Browne drew a clear distinction between factual political criticism and false, harmful allegations that irreparably damage a person’s personal and professional reputation. He warned that when political tensions push individuals to make reckless, defamatory claims, they open themselves up to serious legal consequences. “When you become so reckless because somebody criticizes you or they roast you to the extent that your statement is defamatory, then you’re getting yourself in trouble,” he said.
Browne firmly maintained that the allegation Parker made against him is both false and defamatory by any legal standard. His comments on Saturday came during a broader conversation about responsible political discourse, where he urged all politicians, activists, and members of the public to approach heated public exchanges with greater care and accountability.
This latest public exchange marks a new escalation in a long-running war of words between Browne and Parker, who have clashed repeatedly in public over government policy and broader political issues.
As of Saturday afternoon, Browne had not issued a final confirmation on whether he will follow his legal team’s recommendation to file the defamation suit. Parker has also not yet issued any public response to Browne’s latest remarks.