Public Safety Minister David Burch acknowledged yesterday he ordered a threat assessment on Premier Ewart Brown which highlighted a need for detailed security.

When word leaked last week that a bodyguard was in the works for the Premier, Opposition Leader Wayne Furbert fired back with strongly worded criticism in this newspaper.

He said of the Premier: “He’s got a chief of staff, a press secretary — a whole entourage. He is trying to build an empire around him with all the pomp and ceremony.”

The statements from Sen. Burch, perhaps in direct response to the words of the Opposition Leader, suggest the added security was not the Premier’s idea after all — even though published reports suggested that was the case.

Sen. Burch said: “At no stage had Dr. Brown personally requested the type, nature, or composition of a security detail.”

The Minister also indicated to The Royal Gazette that threat assessments like the one conducted for Premier Brown are fairly commonplace for the Leader and members of his Cabinet.

He said: “The current Premier Ewart Brown was the subject of such an assessment, as has been all his predecessors, and the Minister of Public Safety and Housing discussed the contents of same with the Premier and conveyed the recommendations contained therein.

“The key in all of this is for a Premier to accept the recommendations of professionals trained in security and I can confirm that Premier Brown has accepted those recommendations.”

Sen. Burch was not interviewed, he released a statement at The Gazette’s>request.

The statement did not specify what the precise “recommendations” were, but they are presumably the addition of a bodyguard to accompany the Premier during his public appearances.

Up until now, the Chief of Staff, Sen. Dwayne Caines, was at the Premier’s side whenever he did local events.

It was also recently revealed that the Premier travelled to the Bahamas for a celebrity golf tournament and took along a Police Officer as private security.

News of added security for Premier Brown comes on the heels of a loud, but not violent, intruder into the Cabinet Building last week.

The man showed up twice demanding to see the Premier. The first time he was ushered away by senior staff, the second time Police were called.

The man was not arrested.

Last year a foreign-born hotel chef took heat for making a statement about arsenic on the Premier’s lunch plate.

He resigned and left the country.

It’s not clear if there has been some other incident or threat to the Premier’s life which has necessitated hiring a bodyguard.

The most recent Premier Alex Scott did not have a bodyguard, nor did he have a Chief of Staff.

As Premier Jennifer Smith also did not have a bodyguard, but was often accompanied by her Chief of Staff (Lt. Col. David Burch).

According to Mr. Burch, who is now a Government Minister, each of those leaders would have had the same security assessment that Premier Brown recently had.

And with the most recent assessment completed, the Minister said: “These types of assessments will continue to be carried out on a periodic basis and the results shared with the Premier — where changes are recommended — they will be implemented.”