MPs have criticised the Premier's closure of a Parliamentary debate as "an affront to our democracy and the people of Bermuda".

The Opposition hit out at Dr. Ewart Brown yesterday, saying the public had a right to know the terms of the lease for Coco Reef Resort and that it was up to Government to provide the information.

Opposition Leader Kim Swan said: "The public should be outraged at this tactic – to avoid scrutiny and accountability where we see the Government participating in giving away public assets without being prepared to provide an explanation to valid questions and concerns."

John Barritt, Opposition House Leader, said: "All Members of Parliament are entitled to express their opinion and in expressing it, it is up to Government to respond."

Stuart Hayward, co-chairman of the Voters' Rights Association, also accused the Premier of "attempting to bully our elected Parliamentarians into silence".

Their reaction follows a debate on the Hotels Concession (Coco Reef Resort) Order 2008 in the House of Assembly on Friday in which the Premier said he would shut down any debate where the Opposition implies or insinuates there is something dishonest or corrupt going on.

Dr. Brown the added: "I move that the Order be sent to his Excellency the Governor", to which the Speaker gave the Order to the vote. It was approved by the majority, despite calls from the Opposition for the resort lease to be tabled to the House before considering a concessions order.

Shadow Minister of Works and Engineering, Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, said revealing the lease details was in the public interest as the resort is on public land.

In 2003, Government granted former Elbow Beach managing director John Jefferis a 50-year lease to manage the Coco Reef Resort in Paget. A Special Development Order in January gave the go-ahead for an additional 66 holiday apartments to be built on the property, some of which will be on woodland.

On Friday, Opposition Leader Mr. Swan claimed of Government's granting of the SDO: "The property of Bermudians have been given away as an election 'payback'."

Ending the debate later, Dr. Brown said: "We will engage in debate, we will not suppress it, and will listen to all members of the House and answer questions and then vote, but every time there is the implication or insinuation of something dishonest or corrupt mentioned by members of the other side, we will shut down the debate."

Last night Mr. Swan criticised the Premier's stance, saying: "It is important to note that Dr Brown's intro remarks were extremely brief. Our comments and objections centered around the concessions Coco Reef received in the lease, which were far more beneficial than contained in the tender.

"Dr. Brown's approach appears to be a tactic to avoid the scrutiny raised on the floor of the House: the increase in the lease from 21 years to 50; rent-free for five years; granting of five acres of woodland reserve property (now the main part of Concession Order), in which assurances were given that it would not be touched.

"The public should be outraged at this tactic - to avoid scrutiny and accountability where we see the Government participating in giving away public assets without being prepared to provide an explanation to valid questions and concerns. The Premier's remarks and failure to address the concerns raised are an affront to our democracy and the people of Bermuda. Bermuda deserves better."

Mr. Barritt, Opposition spokesman for legislative reform, said he was "taken aback" by the Premier's comments, but that MPs were now likely to use Parliamentary Questions to get hold of the information.

"I was taken aback by the tactic, but I think the Premier is misleading the public to a certain extent as it's not for the Premier to shut down debate. The Speaker is the one to decide to halt a debate," said Mr. Barritt.

"The Premier is perfectly entitled not to participate and to instruct his members not to speak, as everyone has a legal right to remain silent, but I hope the public is listening.

"The Leader of the Government has a duty and an obligation to respond to legitimate questions and provide legitimate information, and otherwise dismiss what he considers to be irrelevant. But I don't think it's appropriate to be silent. That's not the way to proceed. All Members of Parliament are entitled to express their opinion and in expressing it, it is up to Government to respond. That's how Government works best for the people."

Commenting on Coco Reef, Mr. Barritt said: "The final terms of the lease differed greatly from that put out to tender and now on top of that we have a Concession Order granted for that property. I feel that when you're dealing with public property and a prime piece of real estate, the owner of which has been granted an SDO for further development, then I feel the public has a right to know what's going on.

"The people of this country should know that the Opposition will still do its duty, and one of the other ways to get information is Parliamentary Questions. I think there's every likelihood of that."

Last night Mr. Hayward also criticised the Premier's comments.

"The public is entitled to Parliamentary respect for questions about beneficiaries of public funds," said Mr. Hayward.

"The Coco Reef story is particularly egregious, from the irregularities surrounding the lease, unfulfilled expectations of staff training, an SDO that permits construction in woodlands that were previously protected, to 'double-dipping' of financial concessions. The public is entitled, through Parliament, to answers to the list of questions.

"Not only has the public been deprived of answers to questions legitimately presented in Parliament last Friday, but the public has been threatened with its Parliament being shut down if any questions of impropriety are raised.

"Attempting to bully Parliament into refraining from making any accusation of dishonesty or corruption is an affront to the very foundation of Parliamentary democracy. Members of Parliament are accorded a privilege and granted immunity so that they can speak freely about the public's business."

He said: "The Premier is holding the people to ransom, interfering with the proper conduct of the people's business - not for any reason that can claim the people's interest, but rather for the narrow interest of shielding himself and the Parliamentarians in his party from any accusation of impropriety, whether justified or not.

"The Premier squandered funds from the public purse in three separate and costly attempts via the courts to bully the Press into silence about allegations of unethical, dishonest and corrupt conduct. Those attempts failed. Now the Premier is attempting to bully our elected Parliamentarians into silence about any allegations - past, current or future - of improper conduct.

"The Premier may be entitled to silence from his Cabinet. The silencing of PLP MPs is to be expected, given his style. However, attempting to bully the entire elected Parliament into silence is preposterous.

"The VRA will certainly be including this attempt to silence Parliament as an addendum in our submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the UK Parliament."

Mr. Hayward, chairman of the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST), added: "The public has a right to know how its funds are being used. In the case of Coco Reef, the concessions are so irregular and the list of concessions so long, there is an imperative for full disclosure. Anything less is an invitation to suspicions of impropriety."