by the punishment he received for missing a vital House of Commons vote last week.

Mr. Allason had the party "whip'' suspended and must regain the favour of his party after missing Friday's crucial vote of confidence which could have led to the fall of the British Government.

But the Tucker's Town resident defended his decision to abstain from the vote and said he would continue to stand against the Maastricht Treaty on European Union.

Mr. Allason, 41, was the British Government's only Member of Parliament not to turn up to take part in Friday's vote.

Mystery surrounded his non-appearance and it was rumoured he was in Bermuda with his wife Mrs. Nicole Allason.

Speaking from London yesterday, Mr. Allason said: "I think this will finally demonstrate that I am not in Bermuda.

"The reason I was not in Parliament is that I have always said I wanted nothing to do with Maastricht.

"I readily concede that I did not expect to be the only person to abstain but the Government was certain to win by twice its parliamentary majority, which it did.'' However, the Government had placed a three line whip, meaning all members had to attend after Prime Minister John Major threatened to dissolve Parliament and call an election. Opinion polls suggest that the Conservatives would face a heavy defeat if an election was called.

Mr. Allason returned to Parliament on Monday but was never called to see the Government's Chief Whip, Mr. Richard Ryder.

However, after writing a letter of apology to the Prime Minister and the Chief Whip, he said: "I was given a letter late last night telling me the whip had been temporarily suspended. This has never been done before. It was the last day of the Parliamentary session.'' Withdrawing the whip means Mr. Allason is now "out in the cold'' and information concerning voting by the Government will not be available to him.

He may also be barred from standing as an official party candidate in an election.

Mr. Allason said: "I don't think it will come to that. It says the whip will be restored when I demonstrate clear and consummate support for the party.

"I have always expressed that support except on this Maastricht issue. I believe I have the support of my constituents in Torbay. All I am guilty of is consistency.'' But Mr. Allason came under heavy fire for his decision in the English national newspapers.

Fellow Tory MPs have accused him of betraying his party while his party chairman in the south west coast constituency of Torbay, Mr. Johnny Johnson is said to be angry and has not ruled out de-selection. A meeting last night was discussing the matter.

One whip said: "This is not the first time that Mr. Allason has been missing in term time. We call him the member for the Bermuda Triangle as he seems to vanish so many times when his vote is needed.'' Mr. Allason writes books under the pen name Nigel West, dealing with information on MI5 and MI6, the secret intelligence organisations of Britain.

His books include "Spy!,'' "The Secret Wireless War,'' "Molehunt,'' "Murder in the Commons'' and his latest novel "Cuban Bluff'' based on the Cuban Missile Crisis and large parts of which refer to Bermuda.

He arrived in the Island in 1981, and has been married for 14 years. He first hit local headlines when he was on holiday in the Caribbean and arrested two drug smugglers. At the time he was a special constable in London.