Dear Sir,

The appointment of Rory Field to continue as Director of Public Prosecutions has raised some questions to which we cannot have an answer without knowing what advice His Excellency, Governor George Fergusson, received and from whom he received the advice.

The naming of the Governor as the person appointing the DPP was, on the face of it, a good move on the part of the makers of our constitution, for it gives hope that we will not suffer from prosecutions launched in our courts for malevolent (personal or political) reasons — it happens, sadly, sometimes in well-run democracies such as the United States, as well as in evil dictatorships.

Still, why was a Bermudian not appointed to this post? Without any knowledge of what has been advised we can make several guesses:

• The appointee should be a mature and knowledgeable barrister in order to deal with difficult cases, particularly those arising from our offshore business.

• The pay must be good enough to attract such a person from his current practice, which may well be lucrative.

• Knowledge of the ins and outs of Government service may be important as well.

It would be interesting to know who the members of His Excellency’s advisory committee are, and the reasons for the judgment they reached.

That is the area which the critics might well pursue.

— WILLIAM S ZUILL SR