THE Bermuda Industrial Union is in denial about its role in the decline of tourism according to activist Tony Brannon.

BIU leader Chris Furbert has accused Mr. Brannon of making "untrue, racist utterances" after the entertainer said the union was largely to blame for tourism's decline.

The row erupted when Mr. Brannon, posting on the YouTube website, said: "It was the BIU/PLP (now our Government) that created hostile vibes in Bermuda hotels in the late '70s and 1980s.

"Dr. Brown has said he wants to have an open discussion about race. Well I want an open discussion on who really killed tourism. I say it was nasty attitudes and surly service by yes, black Bermudians egged on by the BIU."

At a press conference yesterday, Mr. Furbet said the union was "alarmed that Mr. Brannon...would make such an untrue, insulting and racist statement".

"This statement by Mr. Brannon is not only untrue, it completely discounts the tremendous amount of work that has been carried on by the Hotel Employers of Bermuda, the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Government of Bermuda to turn around tourism that began declining in the early '80s."

Mr. Furbert added that a research company had carried out a study of the industry in the late 1990s and that, as a result, closer ties between the industry's major stakeholders ? including the BIU - had been formed.

"Mr. Brannon should be aware of the cooperation that exists between the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Hotel Employers of Bermuda, since he is actively involved in the tourist industry," Mr. Furbert added.

"He should also know that workers in the hotel industry form the largest part of the Bermuda Industrial Union. Hence we must ask him to explain why he thinks the BIU would willingly disrupt a relationship upon which not only its own survival depends, but that of the entire Bermuda? Mr. Brannon needs also to explain to Bermudians, the majority of whom are black, why he thinks they would deliberately destroy the most vital part of their existence?

"If this man had any kind of conscience, he would offer a sincere public apology to black Bermudians whom he has offended and members of the Bermuda Industrial Union for making such an untrue, racist utterance in a country in which race relations are so delicately balanced."

But last night Mr. Brannon defended his remarks. He pointed out that he was referring to the decline in tourism in the early 1980s - not more recent developments to turn the industry around.

And he said that he was only joining the debate on Bermuda's racist past - something that Premier Ewart Brown had called for.

"The point I was making is that the antics of the BIU - and it is black Bermudians which the union overwhelmingly represents - were inflammatory.The General Strike of 1981 was one of our darkest days," Mr. Brannon said."If the BIU says it didn't have anything to do with the decline in tourism in the early 1980s then they are in denial.

"If we don't have that kind of nonsense going on now then great. Maybe the union has changed - fantastic, if that's the case I take my hat off to them, and of course I want to see Bermuda thrive and prosper. But I wasn't talking about 2007, or 2006, or 2005, I was talking about the role the union played in the decline in tourism in the early 80s and I still believe that it was a contributing factor. The attitude of staff in hotel dining rooms in 1981 affected visitors - you could feel the tension. The word spread like wildfire and was there for everyone to see.

"The Premier has said that he wants a discussion about race and I'm simply joining that debate - I'm bringing it up as part of the discussion.

"Obviously I have touched a nerve and there are people who will say I am right and there are who will say I am stirring things up. If people think I'm talking absolute hogwash they are entitled to say that and to those people who feel offended, I apologise.

"But if there's going to be any meaningful, sit-down discussion about where we have all come from and where we want to go then we all have to say it as we see it."