In a brief statement issued to the Cayman Compass Wednesday evening Bush shared his decision.

“After careful thought and advice I will take an immediate leave of absence from the duties of speakership.

“I will be doing the grief counseling and emotional stress management sessions that I spoke about and that I should have done a long time ago, and of course I will continue to attend to the needs of my constituents,” Bush said in his statement.

Bush’s announcement follows a meeting with Premier Alden McLaughlin in London in the wake of allegations that the West Bay West MLA was involved in the assault of a female bar manager on Friday night.

Bush, who is deputy chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Small Branches Executive Council, was in London for a previously arranged CPA meeting.

McLaughlin, who is also in London on official business dealing with the European Union’s blacklist, took the opportunity to meet with the Speaker about the allegations.

There was no immediate word on how long a leave of absence Bush is taking or who will fill in as Speaker in the interim.

The Premier’s office said a statement would be issued shortly.

On Monday, Bush issued a statement on the incident saying he did not recall what had happened but was told he “reacted badly” when he was being assisted to his feet after passing out and falling down at Coral Beach on West Bay Road.

He said he has been dealing with the grief of losing his daughter who passed away at the end of January 2011.

He pledged to get professional help and to stop drinking alcohol.

Check back for more updates on this developing story.