Governor Sir John Vereker has leant moral support for the campaign to end discrimination against gays, suggesting different wording could see legal protection get through Parliament.

In May Government backbencher Renee Webb put forward her Human Rights Amendment Act seeking to outlaw discrimination on grounds of ?sexual orientation?. But the Bill was shot down after little debate following a large lobbying effort by the Church.

Asked about the situation Sir John told The UK expects of the Overseas Territories the same standard of human rights that British citizens enjoy in the UK. We have regularly made that clear.

?I do think there is a role for the UK in human rights issues.?

Probed about discrimination against gays, he said: ?We believe any discrimination on any grounds is wrong.?

Asked if he had lobbied the Government over that he said: ?I said that informally.

?But it is not for us to legislate for Bermuda or suggest what should be introduced here. What I said, that ?discrimination on any grounds? is wrong, that is consistent with what I have heard ministers here say recently.

?If the Government of Bermuda were to introduce legislation to amend the human rights act in the sense of ?discrimination on any grounds? that would be entirely consistent with the British Government?s approach to the human rights issue.?

The more general wording might make it difficult for the PLP members beholden to the Church to oppose a new amendment.

But Ms Webb said she wasn?t planning to remove an explicit reference to outlawing of discrimination on sexual orientation when she brings back her bill in the new term. She said she had copied the definition of sexual orientation from the European Convention and UK employment law and wanted to be consistent with it.

Merely putting in a ?discrimination on any other grounds? clause would be too general, she argued.

?I am being specific in what I am amending. I don?t want to hide behind some anonymous clause. I am trying to be obvious.?

She said if a vague catch-all clause was added opponents would then make outlandish claims that it would bar discrimination against paedophiles or other undesirables.

Ms Webb confirmed she would try to bring her bill again but Opposition MP Trevor Moniz said she would be wasting everybody?s time unless a better effort was made to gather support on what was a controversial bill, particularly with an election coming up.

?She should be getting together with people instead of saying ?take it or leave it?.

?There?s no simple answer ? you need to do your homework to build your support if you are really interested in progress rather than posing. ?You need hard work. I speak from bitter experience.?

He said his fight to have a register of interests for MPs took years and saw some so-called supporters switch sides.

Campaigners hoping to get a different result after Parliament resumes in November had better start working now said Mr. Moniz.

But simply creating publicity without trying to win over opponents was self-defeating.

?The more publicity you create the more opposition you create. But those who live by publicity die by publicity.?