This is the full text of the statement read out in the House of Assembly by Speaker Stanley Lowe, giving his ruling on parliamentary questions:

"A few weeks ago I had the opportunity of meeting around a table with a group of five Bermudians as part of a focus session.

"During the discussions I was asked 'What do you do as your role as Speaker? What are your duties as Speaker?' Of course what has happened during the past week clearly drives home in a very dramatic fashion the significant role of the Speaker – not for the many times he gets it right but for the one odd occasion he may get it wrong.

"This could not have been even better orchestrated by myself, had I done so. Parliamentary questions regarding ministerial travel, I had carefully considered the matter of parliamentary questions put by members of the Opposition regarding overseas travel by Government Ministers.

"The questions submitted by honourable members were all recycled from the old Parliament and had included matters pertaining to the travel of new ministers. This is clearly not permitted.

"As a general principle dissolution of parliament brings an end to all legislative and other proceedings pending in parliament such that all items for consideration before the House are squashed.

"The standing rules of this House and in parliaments in other jurisdictions would prohibit a new parliament from revisiting certain issues already dealt with in a previous parliament.

"It was most unfortunate that this was not well communicated to members and particularly new members seeking to put questions on matters arising from the last Parliament and our own procedure may have not been properly applied.

"Even more unfortunately a most extraordinary press release issued from the Cabinet Office left the mistaken impression that the Speaker of the House had approved such a release and also unwittingly brought into question the independence and integrity of the Speaker's office.

"While I can readily accept that there was not a deliberate attempt to usurp or borrow the Speaker's authority or to remove the impartiality of the Speaker someone may have been inclined to infer that the traditional role of the Speaker was being eroded.

"It is of course a long-cherished parliamentary tradition and duty of the Speaker to act as an independent arbiter and assure the rights of all members and particularly Opposition members to have their say while assuring the right of the Government to secure parliamentary approval for its legislative and policy objectives.

"The rules of the House do not prohibit parliamentary questions on old matters arising out of previous parliaments and as such I have had to review our practice on what kind of matters members of a new parliament may ask about the relation to the old parliament.

"Having consulted widely on (inaudible) procedures in other parliaments and having also seen the questions regarding certain matters arising from the old Parliament were allowed following the convening of the new Parliament in 2003 as set out in the journals of 2003/2004, I have been obliged to consider that my usual sound judgement may have been momentarily been thrown off after a long Bermuda Day holiday in the sun and that I erred in my vigilant scrutiny of the recycled questions on ministerial travel.

"As such I will allow the appropriate questions on ministerial travel to be put and administered in accordance with established rules of questions.

"This is my ruling and I consider the matter now closed. In the words of Alexander, and I have said it many times before, 'to err is human but to forgive is divine'.

"I can assure all honourable members that this parliamentary democracy remains a paramount objective and that the integrity and the independent rule of the Speaker will continue to be maintained."