Last night Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said she was particularly upset at the way Mr. Tweed had returned to the Island and was "exploiting" her late father Dr. E.F. Gordon.

And she questioned whether the public was being given the proper perspective of Rev. Tweed's role during the theatre boycott of 1959.

"My basic concern is that I don't want him to exploit the Gordon name," she said. "His (Rev. Tweed's) role in the de-segregation was peripheral. He was not part of the Progressive Group and it was the Progressive Group to my mind that deserves the credit. "So I say don't come back here like you are the damn hero because you ain't."

And Ms Gordon-Pamplin said he believed Rev. Tweed should have placed greater emphasis on taking care of his family during the last 40 years. She said: "I have very little regard for someone who wants to fly in like a knight in shining armour. I believe the Bermuda public has been hoodwinked.

"He came home saying he was in exile and it was not self-imposed, that his life was threatened and he was forced to leave the country.

"But even if 40 years' ago someone did threaten him, 40 years has since elapsed and people have felt free to come and go as they liked."

After a 40 year exile, Rev. Tweed returned to Bermuda for the first time this year at the invitation of the Progressive Labour Party. Rev. Tweed, who refused to speak to this newspaper when he first arrived, could not be reached for comment by presstime last night.