Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney yesterday accused his fellow Cabinet Minister Terry Lister of lying as he admitted to overruling the Annual Sports Awards' nominating committee and naming James Stout Male Athlete of the Year.

Mr. Blakeney made the accusation against the Energy Minister during a live radio interview with Everest DeCosta on FM89 yesterday afternoon.

He was responding to Mr. Lister's assertion in yesterday's The Royal Gazette that the decision to deny Olympic swimmer Roy Allen Burch the Male Athlete award was 'a collective Cabinet one'.

"He's lying then, he wasn't even in the meeting," said Mr. Blakeney. However a source yesterday contradicted that version of events, saying that Mr. Lister was indeed in the meeting.

Mr. Blakeney has continued to insist that it was his decision to change the winner, and some sources said Cabinet gave Mr. Blakeney the final decision, although it was discussed at the meeting.

The decision to replace Mr. Burch with Mr. Stout was never relayed to the nominating committee however some members first learned of the 'U-turn' via the media.

This newspaper understands that during the meeting, while there was disagreement among Cabinet members over whether Mr. Blakeney should take this particular course of action, it was ultimately decided that he had the final say.

Some Ministers are said to have objected to Mr. Burch Mr. Lister's nephew because he spoke out against Government in an article in The Royal Gazette last April.

Mr. Blakeney meanwhile is understood to have repeatedly highlighted the Olympic swimmer's lack of accomplishments, and continually expressed the view that his achievements were not as great as Mr. Stout's.

The Sports Minister's position directly contradicts that of the committee. The Royal Gazette has learned its members didn't believe that the world racquets champion was even the second most worthy winner.

That place was held by Olympic long jumper Tyrone Smith. Mr. Stout was, in fact, third on the list.

It's believed the decision to switch has upset the committee greatly. The Royal Gazette understands that the Minister never explained his decision to all of its members.

Yesterday the Sports Minister explained his actions for the first time since reports first surfaced of a change in winner on a ZBM news report by Gary Moreno last Thursday.

In a passionate defence of his choice for Male Athlete of the Year, Mr. Blakeney said he decided to change the award because he felt Mr. Stout "'was more deserving", and insisted that the decision was his alone. Mr. Blakeney is believed to be the first Minister in the history of the awards to have overruled the nominating committee.

"It was my decision, I stand by my decision, I make no apologies," said Mr. Blakeney. "In fact, when James Stout's father was accepting the trophy, that same day his son was defending his US Open title.

"I'm one that allows my conscience to be my guide, and in good conscience I did what I thought was deserving of the person I named. I think Mr. Allen (Roy Allen Burch) has incredible potential, and I do apologise for the disappointment. But when I looked at World Champion (next to Stout's name), I saw World Champion, and that's what I used as my criteria, that to me was the most outstanding achievement for 2008."

While Mr. Stout, a professional, is indeed a World Champion, he won the title after challenging and beating former champion Harry Foster, an amateur, over a two-legged challenge match. That one match, however, was enough to convince Mr. Blakeney that he deserved the award over Olympians Mr. Burch and Mr. Smith.

According to a senior Government official, the whole affair has left Premier Ewart Brown "fuming".

In a conversation with Mr. Blakeney yesterday morning, the Sports Minister was apparently left in no doubt as to the Premier's feelings on the matter and was ordered to get out there and "fix it".

"It won't be the Premier who falls under a bus," said the source. "Heads are likely to roll at the Cabinet meeting today."