An Opposition Bill granting the Premier the power to appoint a Commission of Inquiry has been passed with bipartisan support in the House of Assembly.

Introduced by Walton Brown, the Shadow Minister for Immigration, the amendments were brought in the aftermath of a refusal in July by Governor George Fergusson to endorse a commission to look into cases of illegal land grabs.

The commission would have investigated the alleged dispossession of Bermudians, many of them black, through a collusion of realtors, lawyers and politicians.

At the time, although MPs had approved the creation of a commission, Mr Fergusson said he needed further clarification before he would sanction one. The move sparked a peaceful march on Government House, an Opposition demand for the Governor to be recalled and a Progressive Labour Party boycott of Parliament.

Under the new Bill, approved by the House last night, the Governor retains the power to appoint commissions, which the Premier also acquires. Mr Brown said it shifted the balance of power in favour of greater democracy in Bermuda. He also said Mr Fergusson’s declining of the commission had not been the first such case. “After the Belco fire some years ago, Premier Alex Scott wanted to establish a Commission of Inquiry — that didn’t happen, I suspect for the same reason.”

Attorney General Trevor Moniz told the House that One Bermuda Alliance MPs were happy to throw their support behind the Bill.