Bermuda lobbying won Island residents the right to travel visa-free in 26 European countries, a PLP Shadow Minister has claimed.

MP Walton Brown said the UK had attempted to take credit for Bermuda winning visa-free access to the Schengen area of the EU, but that Bermuda had won agreement from the EU without British help.

Mr Brown told MPs: “What we see in this situation today is a series of misrepresentations by the British government, aided and abetted by the Governor, in not being fully open about the processes that transpired.”

And he said that the only reason that Bermudians and the other Overseas Territories had been denied permission to travel without visas to the Schengen area was because the EU had been misinformed by the UK over Bermudians rights as UK citizens.

But Government House said yesterday the denial of visa-free travel had been decided by the EU in 2006, which said that Overseas Territories citizens who did not have UK passports should apply for visas.

And Governor George Fergusson added that British government ministers, along with Overseas Territories representatives in London and others, had all argued for a change in the EU rules.

Mr Brown, the Opposition Education spokesman, launched the attack during the House of Assembly sitting on Friday.

He said that Bermudians and the other Overseas Territories had been put on the visa control list by the EU in 2006 because Britain had failed to make the relationship with the UK clear.

Mr Brown explained that former Premier Dr Ewart Brown had authorised a trip by Mr Brown and immigration officials to discuss the problem with the Foreign Office in London and that he had later travelled to Brussels to meet UK officials there and said “they offered no assistance whatsoever.”

But he added that he had a series of unofficial talks with EU bureaucrats and Brussels decided to reverse its earlier decision in 2012 and voted on a few weeks ago.

Mr Brown said: “It’s something which should never have been in place in the first instance.

“Our position was marginalised because of the United Kingdom government’s position.”

He called on the Governor to withdraw a tweet giving the UK government credit for the change in EU policy.

“This was an internally-generated matter and had nothing to do with the United Kingdom being magnanimous and helping us to achieve rights they took away from us in the first place,” he added.

But Mr Fergusson said: “Ministers in the UK Coalition government have lobbied to have this decision reversed, alongside the London representatives of Overseas Territories, including Bermuda, and others.

“It is very welcome news that this has now been agreed.”

Mr Fergusson explained that the EU had ordered a 2011 review of people who should be exempt from visas for the Schengen counties.

He added: “The UK, along with all other EU members, including those like the UK who are not members of the Schengen area, was invited to make suggestions.

“UK ministers were aware of lobbying from Overseas Territories — especially Bermuda — to reverse the European Commission’s 2006 decision to require Overseas Territories citizens who had not taken out UK passports to present visas for travel in Schengen countries.

“This EU decision appears to have reflected a view that as Overseas Territories citizens could, if they wished, acquire UK passports, those who did not have UK passports had a more tenuous connection to the UK and noted that the British Overseas Territories citizens had to have their passports stamped at the UK border.”