House of Assembly Speaker Stanley Lowe on Friday killed a United Bermuda Party motion calling for a debate on joining the Caribbean Community (Caricom) because he said it broke House of Assmbly rules.

UBP House leader Maxwell Burgess, who tabled the motion, immediately placed a similar motion, which Mr. Lowe said he would consider.

Mr. Lowe told MPs the House had already passed the Throne Speech in which Government said it would produce a paper for debate seeking approval for Bermuda to obtain associate membership of the Caribbean Community.

He said House rules prohibited a vote to "reconsider any specific question upon which the House has come to a conclusion during the current session except upon a substantive motion for rescission".

He continued: "Having regard to the above rule and procedural difficulty it would place upon the Government, it would be unconscionable to allow the Honourable Member Mr. Burgess to proceed."

Mr. Lowe apologised to Mr. Burgess and struck the motion from the order paper.

But Mr. Burgess said the motion had been set down before the House had approved the Throne Speech.

"The House accepted the motion because the Throne Speech had not been approved," he said.

"The House, in voting in the Throne Speech, acknowledged the motion (I submitted on Caricom) didn't say we ought to throw out the Throne Speech or that section of the Throne Speech."

Mr. Lowe replied: "That's how things are."

Mr. Burgess then handed in a similar motion calling for a joint select committee to be set up in the House and Senate to look at the advantages and disadvantages of joining Caricom.

Mr. Lowe said he would take it under advisement but gave no guarantee it would be tabled.

UBP MPs walked out of the House last Friday in protest after the Speaker did not allow them to discuss Mr. Burgess's motion.