Culture Minister Dale Butler last night defended his decision to over-rule a committee's choice for the name of a new urgent care centre after four members resigned in protest.

Officially opened this week as the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre, the Names and Recommendation Committee had recommended Jane Lusher, but Mr. Butler said local roots counted more.

The Committee was set up to sift suggestions for naming public buildings and had reviewed five or six names for the new medical centre in the East End, but Mr. Butler argued the minister had ultimate authority to make the final choice.

Explaining the background to the bust-up he said the Committee had felt it had not been consulted in naming some other Government facilities. "But what had happened is they had not been able to meet," said Mr. Butler. "They felt they had been ignored, that annoyed them."

So when chairman Wayne Caines one of the four to resign made sure the committee met over the Urgent Care Centre it took the view it should get its way with its choice, said Mr. Butler.

But he believed the contributions made by nurses Annie Foggo and Susan Lamb to the local area were paramount but Jane Lusher, while born in St. George's, had made her major contribution in Ireland Island and elsewhere in Bermuda where there was yellow fever during the 1850s.

"Her contribution will not be ignored there are other opportunities to name facilities after people like her. But nobody in the area had ever heard of her.

"All this highlights the fact in Bermuda we are not doing enough reading and just now in the schools Government has finally got more than enough text books explaining the contribution made over the last 200 to 300 years. "I contacted the chairman to say I wasn't going to accept his resignation because there were people who had made a contribution on the ground in St. David's.

"Mr. Caines was totally incensed and gave some very good reasons why he was going to resign. I accepted that whereupon two or three other members also resigned."

He said judging from feedback from St. David's Islanders at the opening ceremony at the Urgent Care Centre earlier this week his had been a wise switch. "They were extremely delighted that they are not being ignored because they are tired of us 'immigrants' coming down there and telling them who their heroes are."

Minister Butler said a rethink was needed about how naming would be handled and he said Government on a regular basis over-ruled recommendations recently paring down a planned four hour National Heroes Day ceremony to something just over an hour which went down well.

"That type of consultation bodes well as opposed to 'I didn't get my way, I am out of here'. Committees must realise they act in an advisory capacity. "Ninety percent of the time Ministers take their advice."

Yesterday Mr. Caines refused to comment saying it was an "internal matter". However Shadow Community, Cultural Affairs and Social Rehabilitation Minister Jeanne Atherden said it was important not to politicise the issue of naming buildings. "If you pick a good cross-section of people to do the work you should let them do their job. "If you don't do that you have people saying why bother if it's going to be vetoed?"

And she said the facility was for the east end, not just St. David's.