Government Senator Walton Brown has blasted the UK's Foreign Affairs Committee report as "intellectually weak" and he said the call for voting rights for long-term residents was "provocative".

The report, by a cross-party group of British MPs, has recommended phasing out conscription, a review of voting rights for long-term residents and the outlawing of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The document on the Overseas Territories goes on to recommend that the UK Government encourage Bermuda to strengthen its transparency measures, including establishing an independent Electoral Commission and ending the practice of committees of the House of Assembly sitting in secret.

Yesterday Sen. Brown said it was untenable to give Permanent Resident Certificate holders the right to vote.

He said: "It is my personal view, not the party view, that we will be making a decision on Independence at some point.

"It is, in my view, entirely inappropriate for people who already hold citizenship in another country to determine whether or not we can move to Independence or not.

"After Independence, I think any discussion would include people who had been here for an extended period of time."

Asked if the PRC holder might then get a vote, he said: "I would be inclined to view that very favourably."

Probed about the Foreign Affairs Committee's (FAC) stance on conscription, he said: "In 2008, it's probably inappropriate to have people forced into the Regiment."

Sen. Brown also said the ability to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation was an "inappropriate framework for a modern democracy".

But he added: "It didn't need those guys to tell us that."

Sen. Brown said he believed the MPs had not done a thorough job and had come with a pre-conceived set of issues they wanted to address and they weren't interested in others.

He said: "I know this first-hand because I personally went to one of the members of the committee and raised two issues that were important, the response to me was 'put it in writing'."

Sen. Brown had raised the issue of what the British were doing about restricted travel rights in the EU which began for Bermudians at the beginning of 2007 and he also wanted to know what the UK was doing to abide by the UN charter which requires it to help its colonies develop politically.

Sen. Brown said he had wondered why the MPs had visited Bermuda if they weren't interested in taking verbal evidence. "If they were on an objective mission they should have listened to all issues.

"It would appear from their report they didn't assess the issues, they simply listened to one side of the information and gave recommendations — that is intellectually weak.

"I am disappointed, these people spent three days in Bermuda, they clearly did not take the time to carefully analyse the issues."

The FAC report also had a passage which said: "We recommend that the Government sets out in its response to this report the steps it has taken to ensure that allegations of corruption at the Bermuda Housing Corporation, in the issuing of contracts, and of electoral fraud in Bermuda are properly investigated."

The report said that the investigation concluded with no criminal charges, with officials finding that the incident demonstrated 'unethical, but not illegal' behaviour under Bermuda law.

Later, in May 2007, confidential Police investigation documents were leaked to a newspaper which showed that suspects had included key members of the governing party, including the Premier, said the report.

Sen. Brown said the BHC issue had been deal with — an independent prosecutor had decided not to pursue it.

And on concerns about the arrest of the Auditor General, Sen. Brown said the integrity of the Police Service was being impugned. "There is no suggestion of political involvement. The Police Service answers ultimately to the Governor."

Voter's Rights Association co-chairman Stuart Hayward welcomed the report.

He said: "This is one of the few times that the issues important to the grassroots people of Bermuda can get on the UK Parliament's agenda.

"Whether issues about voting rights, that affect virtually every adult on the Island, or about conscription or sexual preference, that affect relatively powerless minorities, these issues have gained an appearance on an important but hitherto inaccessible stage.

"We are more moved by the process than by individual elements because the most fundamental of voters' rights is to have a meaningful role in the exercise of their governance. Thus the goal of full democracy is a step or two closer."

Asked if he thought the report would lead to any change he said: "The attention to the issues will undoubtedly lead to changes in people's awareness and attitudes — locally, as well as among UK legislators.

"Even if Bermuda's residents disagree with the concepts expressed or the stance UK parliamentarians take on these issues, they will be engaged by them, listen to them, talk about them, pay attention to them.

"Those changes are, in our view, monumental relative to the changes in policy that ultimately occur.

"We recognise there will be some push-back to these recommendations, but the floodgates are now open.

"Independent electoral oversight, freedom of information and universal human rights will never again be invisible issues in our community."

However, Mr. Hayward stressed that the VRA has only had a cursory look at the document and will be meeting to more thoroughly examine it.