non-Bermudian without a valid work permit, The Royal Gazette can reveal today.

United Bermuda Party backbencher Mrs. Grace Bell continued hiring Mr. Carlos Lozada for several months after his permit had expired.

The man finally left Mrs. Bell's cleaning business last month and is believed to have returned home to Ecuador.

Mrs. Bell, managing director of Houseprouds Cleaning Service on Reid Street, admitted she had been guilty of an "oversight'' But she stressed this was completely different to the systematic Immigration abuse she was campaigning against.

"You can't equate the two.'' Nevertheless the MP, who provoked a storm recently by saying guest workers should have to carry photo identity cards and produce them on demand, accepted the work permit lapse "should not have happened''.

Mrs. Bell explained Mr. Lozada had worked for her for eight years -- seven of those quite legitimately.

Last year, it was agreed that Mr. Lozada would leave Mrs. Bell's business and work elsewhere.

He was given a "release letter'' by Mrs. Bell, but even though his work permit had lapsed he continued working for Houseprouds.

Mr. Lozada, said Mrs. Bell, had problems in finding the alternative cleaning work he had hoped for.

"The whole thing got out of control.'' With hindsight, Mrs. Bell agreed she should have severed all ties with Mr.

Lozada after handing him the letter.

She was uncertain how long Mr. Lozada stayed at Houseprouds after his permit had lapsed. "I don't think it was as long as nine months. It was definitely under a year.'' Mrs. Bell pledged she would be paying the work permit fee.

The Royal Gazette was informed about the work permit lapse by an ex-employee of Mrs. Bell's.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she found Mr. Lozada working for Houseprouds when she joined the business in February.

"He worked there until April.'' The woman said she herself left Houseprouds after an unhappy time there.

Last week, The Royal Gazette passed on the work permit allegation to Chief Immigration Officer Mr. Neville Smith.

After consulting with Mr. Smith, Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon.

Irving Pearman said inquiries were being made into "the possibility that a worker was engaged while no valid permit was in effect''.

"The matter has been brought to our attention, although the Ministry does not normally go public with such matters. At this stage we have to determine what the facts are.'' Mr. Pearman said the Ministry normally sought legal advice before pursuing such matters.

Mrs. Bell was at pains to point out the huge difference between a lapsed permit and the organised Immigration abuse "schemes'' she was campaigning against.

The MP for St. George's South has spoken of illegal workers cleaning Government buildings.

While the number of work permits in the cleaning and landscaping industries had dropped substantially since 1990, the number of foreign workers had not.

Firms using illegal workers can pay lower wages and therefore compete unfairly with companies like her own which employ mainly Bermudians, she maintained.

It was Mrs. Bell's remarks about photo identification cards which brought condemnation from other parties.

They compared the proposal to the pass cards non-whites used to have to carry when going to work in parts of South Africa.

OVERSIGHT -- UBP MP Mrs. Grace Bell admits she continued to employee an Ecuadorean worker after his permit had expired.