Governor Thorold Masefield did suggest that Environment Minister John Irving Pearman should step down but this was not akin to a call for his resignation, Premier Pamela Gordon said yesterday.

But she said Mr. Masefield "was badly advised'' and he should have taken the earliest opportunity to clarify the issue instead of letting it fester.

Ms Gordon said that she met with the Governor on Monday and advised him to explain exactly what the Police investigation amounted to.

Mr. Pearman, who has been at the centre of a controversy involving allegations of involvement in illegal drugs, said the Police investigation was an orchestrated attempt to smear his good name.

And he also claimed that it grew out of his opposition to any extension of Police Commissioner Colin Coxall's three year contract.

Government House initially denied that Mr. Pearman was under any Police investigation.

But in a prepared statement, a spokesman said yesterday it was the two men who worked for Mr. Pearman that were under Police scrutiny, not Mr. Pearman.

However Ms Gordon said: "I made it very clear (to the Governor) that unless he levelled with the people of this Country and explain both sides, it's not going to make any sense.

"(Police) had (Mr. Pearman's) house under surveillance on the one hand but on the other hand they say that there was no investigation. That needed to be clarified.'' In the Press release, a spokesman for Government House said that Mr. Pearman was not investigated and regretted any misunderstanding.

"There was never any suggestion or evidence to support any allegation that Mr. John Irving Pearman was involved as a target of Operation Cleansweep or in drug trafficking of any sort,'' the statement read.

At the Press conference, Premier Gordon said that Governor Masefield had received "bad advice'' from persons who were supposed to advise him.

"The Governor is very new,'' she said. "And I believe some advantage was taken in relationship to his newness.

"The fact is that the Governor had to have been advised. He has only just come to Bermuda. He did not know people well enough in this community to be able to render a decision.

"I am not going to stand here and hazard a guess by whom. I believe the Governor had been advised badly in relation to Bermuda politics and the body politic of this community.'' The Premier was speaking publicly for the first time since allegations of sex and drugs surfaced against Mr. Pearman.

The Environment Minister has found himself under intense media scrutiny for the last two weeks after reports surfaced that he was allegedly made the subject of a Police investigation.

Two people arrested as a result of Operation Cleansweep -- a covert Police investigation that involved foreign law enforcement agents and targeted street level dealers -- had cashed cheques Mr. Pearman said was payment for work done at his home.

Ms Gordon said that she met with the Governor and he was concerned about the effect any bad publicity would have on Government.

Consequently, she said Mr. Masefield suggested that Mr. Pearman should step down to prevent further damage to the Government.

"It was recommended that Mr. Pearman should step down,'' Ms Gordon said.

"The Governor did not say to me that (he) recommended that Mr. Pearman resign.'' Instead Ms Gordon said that Governor had "consultation with two others'' and on that basis suggested that he believed it was in Government's best interest if Mr. Pearman was asked to step down.

Ms Gordon said that it was then her decision whether to fire Mr. Pearman or to ask for his resignation.

Gordon responds Ms Gordon said that she was uncomfortable with either option because she had not seen any evidence that proved Mr. Pearman had done anything illegal.

And if this evidence existed, Ms Gordon said the Environment Minister should have been charged and had his day in court.

"We did not want to make anyone feel that they are exempt from prosecution if they are doing wrong,'' Ms Gordon continued. "...he would have had to face charges like anyone else.'' Ms Gordon said that she then spoke to Mr. Pearman about the allegations against him and he offered to resign because he did not want to bring the Government into disrepute.

However, she said she was not prepared to accept his resignation until he had been convicted of a crime.

On June 25, she said she received a six-page letter outlining the "evidence'' against Mr. Pearman which contained information unrelated to the allegations.

"As far as I was concerned I was prepared to allow the chips to fall where they may unless and until Mr. Pearman was officially charged. As far as I was concerned the issue was pretty much dead.'' But the issue was revived in a front page issue of the Bermuda Sun in early July and took on a life of its own.

And she added that Government House could have taken the opportunity to clarify the issue but did not do so in a timely enough manner.

Mr. Pearman refused to comment on the Premier's remarks at yesterday's Press conference but he made it clear that he was still a Member of Parliament for the United Bermuda Party.

"I am absolutely a Member of Parliament. The constituents of Warwick East put me in there and have supported me since 1983. I could not imagine any situation where I would go back to them without being a Member of Parliament.'' When asked if he had any response to the Premier's remarks he said: "I have no comments whatsoever.

"We all have pressures and problems in life but you must not allow them to get you down. I don't intend to. I have no hard feelings against anyone.''