Less than a quarter of people approve of the way Premire Ewart Brown is doing his job, according to a new poll.

Dr.Brown's performance approval rating stands at 24 percent in the Profiles ofBermuda survey, which was carried out last week as he came under fire for his handling of the Guantánamo Four situation.

Seventy-one percent disapproved of the Premier's performance, with five percent unsure.It means public opinion of the Premier's ability has fallen since a Research.bm poll showed he had a performance approval rating of 31 percent a month ago.

Dr. Brown's favourability rating how many people like him is at 31 percent, with 64 percent unfavourable and five percent unsure.

Opposition leader Kim Swan fared slightly better with a 39 percent favourability rating, although only 33 percent were unfavourable, with 28 percent undecided.A breakdown on race shows 89 percent of whites and 54 percent of blacks have an unfavourable impression of the Premier.

The survey of 400 registered voters, which has a margin error of 4.9 percent, was carried out between Friday, June 12, and Wednesday, June 17.

During that time, Dr. Brown faced a storm of protests over his controversial move to bring four Chinese Muslim detainees from Guantánamo Bay toBermuda without consulting the Governor, the UK, or all his Cabinet colleagues except Immigration Minister David Burch.Dr.Brown has claimed it was an immigration issue and therefore under Government's remit, but the Governor argues it was one for Britain to decide.

Hundreds of angry protesters have staged demonstrations against Dr. Brown over the past few days, with about 1,500 said to be at the latest rally, at Parliament Hill on Friday, as MPs prepared to debate a motion of no confidence in the Premier's Government.That motion failed, with rebel PLPMPs saying they did not want to vote for a motion which could have resulted in a General Election.