Works Minister Derrick Burgess yesterday launched an attack on the credibility of Auditor General Larry Dennis to carry out his audit into the Hamilton Police/court building affair.

"I have reasons for questioning the motivation and agenda of the current Auditor General," Mr. Burgess told the House of Assembly in a lengthy and angry speech in defence of the controversial project yesterday morning.

However, Governor Sir Richard Gozney, who is responsible for appointing Auditor Generals, responded in the afternoon that he had every confidence in Mr. Dennis.

Mr. Dennis is carrying out a 'value for money' audit into the project that has seen its cost rise and faced controversy over the appointment of contractors Landmark Lisgar Construction, now LLC Bermuda, which was not the choice of Government's technical officers.

At a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Burgess and Premier Dr. Ewart Brown claimed they were the victims of a sophisticated smear campaign to make it look like they received cheques from LLC.

The pair produced copies of cheques they said had been doctored to imply that Mr. Burgess received $10,000 and Dr. Brown $14,780 from LLC — when in fact it was Chester Management and Scorpio Construction which received that cash.

They claimed Permanent Secretary Robert Horton unearthed the cheques while looking through the Ministry's books in response to queries from Mr. Dennis. Police are investigating the matter.

Yesterday, Mr. Burgess revealed details of Mr. Dennis' audit for the first time, telling the House the probe has four objectives:

• to determine whether the tendering process was managed by the Ministry of Works and Engineering in accordance with the rules of tendering;

• to determine whether Works and Engineering and its consulting architect are receiving all the necessary financial information as required by Financial Instructions and the construction contracts between the Government of Bermuda and the Contractor in order to properly vet and approve contractor payment certificates;

• to determine whether the contracts relating to the Magistrates' Court/Hamilton Police Station provide reasonable assurance that the financial interests of the Government are adequately protected;

l to determine whether the Ministry and the Contractors are in compliance with the signed contracts relating to the construction of the Magistrates' Court/Hamilton Police Station.

The Minister said: "I have serious reservations regarding the legal authority of the Auditor General to initiate this so-called 'value-for-money audit' in this way and at this time. Quite separately, I have reasons for questioning the motivation and agenda of the current Auditor General."

Contacted by The Royal Gazette for a response, Sir Richard said: "The powers of the Auditor General are broad, as set out in Bermuda's Constitution and the Audit Act, in order to reflect the Office's important role in monitoring the transparency and accountability of public spending.

"If there are serious differences of interpretation of those legal bases, if necessary I am sure that the Courts will adjudicate.

"I have every confidence that the overriding motive of the present Auditor General is the proper accountability of public funds."

At a Progressive Labour Party rally in the run-up to the December 2007 General Election, Mr. Burgess accused Mr. Dennis of criminal behaviour during his probe into the Bermuda Housing Corporation affair.

Mr. Dennis is on the record describing those comments, as well as his arrest in the summer of 2007, as a politically motivated attempt to discredit him.

The Auditor General did not respond to a request for comment yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile Shadow Minister for Legislative Reform and Justice John Barritt said the situation highlighted the need for a more transparent process.

"It's clear to everybody that there have been allegations and counter-allegations which warrant a Police investigation. That has to be right when it's being alleged that documents have been tampered and forged," said Mr. Barritt.

"One hopes that the Police investigation will be thorough and prompt. Whether it results in prosecution or not, I think the people of this country are entitled to a report as to precisely what's happened or not happened here.

"People are entitled to an explanation as to how something like this could have happened and not be spotted earlier.

"To my way of thinking, it clearly points out deficiencies in our system that warrant correction.

"I have long advocated that we need to change the way in which Government contracts are supervised and this can be done, not only by the Auditor General who does spot checks, but by a more robust Public Accounts Committee of the House of Assembly.

"That way, I think you bring about not only more transparency but greater accountability.

"I think that sort of system isn't just about catching people and catching people early; a more open and transparent system also deters people from doing anything improper."