The People's National Party (PNP's) parliamentary hopeful for St Thomas Eastern, Dr Fenton Ferguson, has with fury reacted to a claim from his challenger, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP's) Delano Seiveright, that he was threatened by a group of men led by Ferguson in Morant Bay.

"A tissue of lies," Ferguson said at a mass meeting in Yallahs Sunday night.

Seiveright claimed that on Saturday, that he and members of the JLP's St. Thomas Eastern Campaign Management Team were in the vicinity of the their constituency office in Port Morant when the incident occurred.

"We were holding a series of workers' meetings at the constituency office only to hear that Dr. Fenton Ferguson and Dr. Andrei Cooke were leading a group PNP supporters, several of whom are from East Kingston, in the area. In a deliberate act of confrontation and provocation, Dr. Ferguson continued forward leading to a stand-off in the street for about 45 minutes. During the melee, threats were made to Mr. Seiveright and his supporters. Additionally, several suspicious and armed men said to be from East Kingston were seen posturing in a threatening manner,”
Richard Porteous, Campaign Liaison said.

The incident has been reported to the police and the political ombudsman.

But Ferguson said that Seiveright, facing defeat at the polls, is seeking relevance.

"When you are on the ground and you realise that the thing is moving and moving away from you, you have to create a story," Ferguson said.

He suggested that he will be taking steps to protect his name and reputation.

"Some of those allegations require going beyond street meetings," he said.