Government's press gag revealed by Premier Dr. Ewart Brown this week could be stretching to other Ministries including Works and Engineering judging from a clampdown on information about Government cars.

Dr. Brown has ordered communications officers at the Cabinet Office and Ministry of Tourism and Transport to "reduce their contact" with The Royal Gazette and its sister newspaper, the Mid-Ocean News.

This paper began inquiry about the whereabouts of GP2, the limo normally assigned to the Finance Minister, but taken by the Premier last summer.

Rumours had been circulating that the car had been removed from the Government fleet and could even have been given to Premier Brown's family.

Efforts to find an answer to the whereabouts of the large limo saw this paper e-mailing a variety of Government spokesmen, beginning April 24 without any response whatsoever.

E-mails to the Works and Engineering Ministry, who are responsible for the Government fleet have been ignored, prompting questions about whether any information which the Premier might find embarrassing is now out of bounds when it stretches to other Ministries.

The questions, ignored by both the Works and Engineering Permanent Secretary and the Works and Engineering media spokesman, are:

¦ Is GP2, the Toyota Camry, still being used by the Premier or has it changed hands?

¦ If so who is using it?

¦ Why are they using it?

¦ Is it still licensed as GP2?

Last night United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan voiced concern about the wider implications of the media ban.

He said: "It is important to understand that the real issue here is not the whereabouts of GP2 but the Government's deliberate refusal to answer questions about its use of public resources.

"The Premier's order to stop communicating with two newspapers is being used to block public scrutiny of its actions.

"And as can be seen with the issue of GP2, it is an order that can be applied against any line of inquiry."

While he said GP2 is a relatively minor affair, the refusal to answer questions was not.

"This Government was elected by the people and it is essential for the good governance of this Island that it answer questions, particularly questions it doesn't like.

"This Government does not rule by divine right.

"It is supposed to be answerable to the people and, in a free society, the scrutiny brought to bear by newspapers is a critically important way for the public to keep their government in check.

"Right now, this Government is not interested in being held accountable, and the Premier's order this week reflects that unfortunate state of mind."

Mr. Swan said it was clear that the Premier would like to destroy The Royal Gazette, but Dr. Brown should not use his vendetta against it to trample over the public's right to know.

"Maintaining Government accountability one of the pillars of good governance in any democracy is more important than his pet peeve.

"That he is pursuing his vendetta through the Government of Bermuda is a danger to our democracy."

Dr. Brown said his media ban was taken to prevent "a total breakdown of communication between the Premier's office" and The Royal Gazette and Mid-Ocean News, a decision denounced by the editors of both newspapers.

It was also criticised yesterday by a US transparency campaigner. Debra Gersh Hernandez, coordinator of Sunshine Week, which this newspaper has celebrated for the last two years, said: "Cutting reporters and their news outlets out of government communications — whether it's not sending them press releases or refusing to return reporters' calls — is simply foolish.

"It doesn't keep reporters from covering news and events, it doesn't encourage productive dialogue between officials and news media, and it flies in the face of the basic tenets of open government. It's proven time and again to be an ineffective public relations strategy, and it's a completely misguided way to conduct government in the sunshine."

Queries about Government cars were one of the complaints voiced by Premier Ewart Brown on the TV news on Wednesday night in justification of his press ban.

He complained about coverage of a hook-up between Tourism and a New York TV station which The Royal Gazette had revealed was the second least popular of the Big Apple's TV stations.

Dr. Brown said: "The fact is over two million people have seen the Bermuda documentary for which we paid no cash.

"Secondly we opened a $7 million dollar urgent care centre in Southside, I delivered the opening remarks and celebrated the event and my name is intentionally left out of the story and it is one of Government's major achievements.

"Another thing that has happened is whenever they have an opportunity to mention someone is related to me, they do, and I have no problem with it. But the rules change when the person who is arrested is related to the Editor no disclosure.

"Do the readers have a right to know that too?

"Recently I spoke with the press secretary he said a senior reporter told him that he doesn't care what Glenn Jones has to say because his, the press secretary's, comments are rarely newsworthy anyway, I think that that's a toxic environment.

"And then lately there is this fixation of where the car is parked and even that they can't handle in an impartial way, somebody pressed them to do a story about the Governor's car being inappropriately parked but you will notice there is no photograph.

"We have decided to reduce the contact because we are not getting anywhere through the relationship."

n Protest the Premier's 'dictatorial' actions, urges Opposition leader – Page 6