United States Attorney General Eric Holder has given Premier Ewart Brown his views on how America might help clean up its former bases here.

But President Barack Obama's top legal adviser was not prepared to reveal them at a press conference held yesterday during a brief visit to the Island.

Mr. Holder — here to discuss drug-trafficking, violent crime, gangs and mutual legal assistance with Dr. Brown and Attorney General Kim Wilson — fielded three questions from local media at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

One was on Morgan's Point, the former US Naval Annex, which needs a $35 million clean-up of the pollution left behind by the American military before a proposed $2 billion tourism resort is developed. Dr. Brown said earlier this month that Bermuda was in discussions with the US to see if it would assist.

Asked by VSB yesterday whether America would consider stumping up more than the $11 million it paid out in 2002 as a final settlement, Mr. Holder replied: "That actually was an issue that we did discuss today and it is an issue that obviously is of great concern to the people of this nation. It is one that I shared privately my views with the Premier as to how the United States might help in that regard."

He added: "That is a topic that was raised by your Premier very forcefully, as he can be, and I will take back to Washington the concerns that were expressed and our hope is that we can work our way through that issue."

The US Attorney General was asked by ZBM how Bermuda benefited from accepting the four Uighurs from Guantánamo Bay in June 2009. Mr. Holder — who has previously expressed thanks to Bermuda for helping to "make America safer" by taking in the former prisoners — replied that the fates of the Island and the US were intertwined.

"The Obama administration has consistently said that the closure of Guantánamo is a priority for us," he said.

"Guantánamo's remaining open has served as a recruiting tool for al-Qaeda. It has served as an impediment in the relationship between the United States and some of the key allies, and the closure of Guantánamo remains something that we are focused on."

He said the help Bermuda gave to the US was a "critical step" in the closure of the notorious detention camp. "It is, I think, as I've said, an example of the kind of thing that exists between our two nations. We have a wide range of things that bind us together."

In answer to a question from The Royal Gazette, Mr. Holder — the first African American Attorney General of the United States — said he did not categorise Bermuda as a tax haven.

He arrived here on Wednesday and was guest of honour that evening at a private reception at the home of US Consul General Grace Shelton.

Yesterday, he took part in talks with Dr. Brown, Sen. Wilson, Acting Governor David Arkley and Ms Shelton, before the Fairmont press conference.

There, the Premier described him as "a trailblazer, a role model for young people throughout the world and a deeply talented lawyer; a man who has broken down barriers and who continues to skillfully articulate the complex issues of justice, opportunity and equality that challenge both his country and our own".

He said the relationship between Bermuda and the States was one with "deep historical, cultural, familial and economic ties" and that his conversations with Mr. Holder were productive.

Mr. Holder said his relationship with Dr. Brown was "deep and abiding, as is the relationship between our two nations".

Bermuda and the US, he said, shared many of the same interests, including securing their borders, eliminating gang and gun-related violence, curbing drug trafficking, reducing prisoner recidivism and fighting terrorism.

Mr. Holder took part in a roundtable discussion on gun and gang crime in the Senate Chamber yesterday afternoon with a newly created Government body called the National Task Force, before leaving Bermuda.