Radio employees should not be participating in political advertisements, according to legislation passed by the Progressive Labour Party.

But Bermuda's most popular radio personalities Thao Dill and Miss Thang have consistently been heard reading out PLP election advertisements.

The amendments to the legislation passed in 2003 also stipulate that radio stations can run no more than one minute political adverts per-party per-day. But Hott staff ran six PLP advertisements between 1.55 p.m and 6.41 p.m. yesterday, and two UBP advertisements during the same period, a Royal Gazette study showed.

They also ran a number of ads for MP 'Glen Blakeney's birthday party' this Saturday at Ocean View Golf Club — an event where people are asked to donate $20 and is being billed as a "Hott 107.5 Fundraising Party for Glenn Blakeney" on the PLP website.

Last night Mr. Blakeney ¿ owner of HOTT 107.5 and a PLP MP ¿ did not return calls about his station's political advertising.

John Barritt, the Opposition spokesman for Legislative Affairs, said: "Is everyone supposed to comply with the law or are Hott 107.5 and the PLP exempt from the law?

"Paragraph 7 (1) of the Political Broadcasting Amendment Directions 2003 clearly states: 'No employee of an undertaking [ie a broadcasting organisation] shall take part in a political broadcast unless he is a member of the Legislature or a candidate and he takes part in a broadcast in that capacity'.

"Three employees of Hott 107.5 — Thaao Dill, Kristy Burgess and Jamel Hardtman — are using their voices for PLP political broadcasts on Hott 107.5. This is a clear breach of the law."

"The president of Hott 107.5, Glenn Blakeney, is a PLP MP. His Government introduced these amended regulations in 2003. He should know the regulations, yet he is allowing his employees to break the law with apparent impunity.

"The reason for the regulations is to ensure that radio personalities do not influence their listeners during an election campaign.

"The Broadcasting Commission is under a legal obligation to hold them to account and we call on the Broadcasting Commission to do its job."

In a news conference his party also made it clear that they did not want Hott to be closed down, contrary to a PLP political advert which ran in the papers stating the UBP was "going after" the station or attempting to"pull Hott of the air". Party members said they were only concerned about whether or not the station was breaking the broadcasting laws during the election period.

The Royal Gazette understands that a letter written to Assistant Director of Telecommunications Hiram Edwards has been passed onto the Broadcast Commission who are taking it under consideration.

Calls to the chairwoman of the Commission, Elizabeth Christopher, who was a PLP candidate int he 2003 election, were not returned last night.