The Premier yesterday slammed those who spread rumours that a UBP Senator was sacked from her executive role at Cable & Wireless for improper conduct.

Premier Pamela Gordon finally came to the defence of Hamilton East candidate Angelita Fox who shocked the business community on Monday with her sudden departure from the telecommunications giant after eight years.

Her confidence in Ms Fox followed earlier allegations from political, union and industry insiders that she was forced to resign.

In a written statement yesterday Ms Gordon said her support for Ms Fox had not wavered despite the controversy.

She described the 34-year-old mother-of-three as an "excellent'' candidate for the Government and said she hoped the people of Hamilton East would agree at the ballot box.

"There is nothing here for any person to try and capitalise on and more specifically, attempt to spread inaccurate, misleading and damaging rumours,'' she said.

"We are aware that these rumours were deliberately fed to members of the media.

"No one should be pleased with themselves for attempting to instigate character assassinations.'' When first contacted by The Royal Gazette on Monday Ms Gordon said she could not comment until she was "up to speed'' on the matter.

She said: "I don't know the whole story and I'm still waiting to get a call from Sen. Fox.'' In the Premier's new statement she said UBP support for Ms Fox and the party's belief in her ability to represent Hamilton East remained strong.

"We fully understand the pressures of being a candidate in this election and we applaud all those who have put themselves forward to serve the people they wish to represent. When Ms Fox joined the UBP team's approved candidate list and was then adopted by the Hamilton East Branch we at both times considered several factors that we felt made her a strong candidate.'' Cable & Wireless announced Ms Fox's resignation in a faxed Press release just after 5 p.m. on Monday.

It said she had quit "so she could focus her time and efforts on pursuing political and personal career endeavours''.

Ms Fox has denied she and the firm parted on bad terms.