Silence continued last night on tomorrow’s session of Parliament, with no word on whether the Bermuda Government intended to press ahead with airport legislation that brought demonstrators to the House of Assembly’s gates.

Asked if Michael Dunkley had known of the deployment of a special police unit against last Friday’s protests, a spokeswoman reiterated earlier comments from Michael DeSilva, the Commissioner, that the decision lay with the Bermuda Police Service.

On the issue of use of pepper spray, the spokeswoman told The Royal Gazette : “Any operational decisions or tactical actions would be a matter for the BPS to address. It has been publicly advised that the police have had use of incapacitant spray since 2006.”

This newspaper further asked if the Premier had contemplated addressing protesters at any point on Friday, and what had prompted his decision not to do so. There was no response.

John Rankin, the Governor, said yesterday that “it remains my hope that calm will prevail and that all parties concerned will take constructive steps to resolve current differences in a peaceful fashion in line with Bermuda’s democratic tradition”.

Mr Rankin confirmed that grievances against police officers were being investigated, and would be passed on to the Police Complaints Authority.

Alleged assaults on officers were also being examined, with files being prepared for charges to be brought.

Mr Rankin added that he expected to be briefed on “police public order response capabilities more generally, including where appropriate any resource or training needs which will assist the Bermuda Police Service in responding to any similar incidents in the future”.

With uncertainty over tomorrow’s session of Parliament running high after the first open clash between authorities and protesters in recent memory, Chris Furbert, the Bermuda Industrial Union president, said he expected the Government to make the call yesterday rather than waiting “until the last minute”.

“I don’t know what to make of it — it’s like they’re playing some game,” Mr Furbert said.

On December 1, the night before the debate, David Burt, the Leader of the Opposition, called for demonstrators to come out in a show of “people power” that morning to demand that the One Bermuda Alliance submit the airport proposal for an independent review.

Asked about claims by some members of the public that it could be seen as encouraging demonstrators to break the law, Mr Burt responded: “The only persons to blame for what took place are the officials who ordered armed riot police to engage peaceful protesters who were assembled.”

Mr Burt said that he hoped that “never again will I witness peacefully assembled protesters attacked by police with force and pepper spray”.

The Opposition remains committed to his call for the Auditor-General to assess the airport redevelopment ahead of any debate by legislators.

Both the Bermuda Trade Union Congress and the Progressive Labour Party issued calls yesterday for an independent inquiry into the actions taken by police.

Walter Roban, the Shadow Minister of National Security, said that the public was being “kept in the dark by the country’s leadership as to the identity of those who were informed prior to the execution of police orders which harmed peaceful protesters”.

Mr Roban called for clarity on “who had knowledge of the planned actions and who gave such orders that resulted in the escalation of the situation”.

In a statement addressed to Mr Rankin, the BTUC expressed “utter dismay” at demonstrators being “savagely and barbarically assaulted” — and called for an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate.

Calling the tactics “atrocities”, the union group said officers who had used the Captor spray should be suspended pending the commission’s findings.