Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler declared himself ?very worried? about the Human Rights Commission last night after it emerged that its chairman has resigned and its lead civil servant is still involved in disciplinary proceedings.

Rod Attride-Stirling apparently stepped down as chairman of the Commission last month though did not announce his decision publicly.

Deputy chairman Maryanne Scott has stepped in as acting chairman until the end of the year but told yesterday that she was not sure if she wanted the chairman?s role.

She revealed that two other commissioners ? Matthew Clifford and Kamal Worrell ? are also leaving the Commission, which has come in for heavy criticism recently due to controversial decisions about complaints regarding PLP politicians and its failure to produce annual reports for the last four years.

A disciplinary hearing involving its executive officer David Wilson ? believed to have been held partly in connection with the lack of annual reports ? took place in May and June, the outcome of which is still not known.

Mr. Butler, the Minister responsible for the Commission, said Mr. Attride Stirling resigned solely because the position took up so much of his time and he needed to concentrate on his Hamilton law firm, Attride-Stirling and Woloniecki.

He added: ?He was disappointed that he could not give the Government the reports according to legislation but it had nothing to do with his resignation. He was personally disappointed that he was unable to get those reports.?

Mr. Butler said the resignation was not a total surprise as the chairman had expressed his desire to leave earlier in the year but had been persuaded to stay.

?I had a good working relationship with him and he kept me informed as much as I needed to know. As far as I know he seems to have done a good job.?

Asked if he was concerned about the Commission?s current performance, Mr. Butler said: ?I?m very worried. The public needs to be well served.?

He added: ?I think that we are doing the best job we can with what we have.?

He said Ms Scott had agreed to be acting chairman ? a position she held previously when Marc Telemaque resigned as chairman ? until later in the year when he would ask for recommendations for the post and pass a list of names to the Premier.

The Minister said a more pressing concern was the issue regarding Mr. Wilson.

?I would like to see that situation resolved so that we can get back on good standing and get those reports in and be able to deal with the public?s concerns.

?I?m concerned that I still don?t have the four missing reports and it?s probably going to be a fifth. I?m concerned that the public may not be getting the response they need.?

Mr. Butler said his ?orders? had been to ?stay completely out? of the situation involving Mr. Wilson, partly because he is a friend of the civil servant but mainly because ?ministers do not get involved in disciplinary processes?.

?The only thing I can say to my Permanent Secretary is that I?m concerned. I have just expressed my concern by saying: ?when will this matter be resolved???

Mr. Butler said he had not been given any indication as to what progress had been made with the missing reports, which the Commission is required by law to produce each year and which should be laid before the House of Assembly and Senate by the Minister.

?I?m waiting for a response.

?I will probably just ask that they compile them into one report to speed them up and hopefully Parliament will accept that there were problems, administrative or whatever, and move on.?

Ms Scott said she expected to be acting chairman until December but had not decided whether she wanted to continue after that due to her own work commitments.

She said Mr. Clifford was moving to another country and Mr. Worrell was returning to education, hence their resignations. ?These are bright minds and we?ll miss them terribly,? she said. ?We will be two commissioners down.?

She added: ?There are things we need to work on and change. We know that there are things we need to improve on.?

She said conversations have already taken place with the new Director of Human Affairs ? Myra Virgil ? about the annual reports.

?That?s going to be in hand,? she said.

Mr. Attride-Stirling could not be contacted for comment last night. left a message for John Drinkwater, the head of the civil service, regarding Mr. Wilson but had not heard back before press time last night.