Cooper, co-chairman of Bermuda's Coalition for the Protection of Children, said this week she was "very pleased'' at the announcement by Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness.

"I asked for a Commission of Inquiry,'' Ms Cooper said. But, "I don't mind what you call the body that does the job as long as the job gets done.

"We look forward to working closely with the chairman that he appoints, to make the most of this opportunity.'' Mr. Edness said the task force would investigate both physical and sexual abuse of children, whether it happened in institutions or private homes.

He wanted the task force to study what caused child abuse, how it could be prevented, and whether education would help. It would also look at laws dealing with protection of children and how judges treated convicted child abusers.

The task force was announced after Police said there would be no charges stemming from a lengthy probe of child abuse allegations at Nambour Day Nursery in Paget.

Probing of specific allegations would not be the job of the task force, which might take six months to report, Mr. Edness said.

"I've tried to make the point earlier that I'm much more concerned by the more general issues raised by this particular case than the case itself,'' Ms Cooper said.

"I would like to offer our services as a member of that task force.''