A bid by Britain to enforce human rights and tougher financial regulations in its Overseas Territories was yesterday slammed by the UK Opposition.

Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary Michael Howard said European human rights legislation should not be imposed on places which are not members of the European Union.

And -- paraphrasing the cry of American Revolutionists who wanted to cut ties with Britain -- Mr. Howard described the move as "legislation without representation''.

Mr. Cook signalled to UK MPs that Bermuda's death penalty, although not used for more than 20 years, and flogging as a court punishment would have to go.

He said: "Our strong preference is that the Overseas Territories should enact the necessary reforms themselves, but we're ready to make such reforms...if they fail to do so.'' And he asked Mr. Cook if he had no confidence in "the instincts and abilities'' of Overseas Territories legislatures to "reflect the cultural and political wishes of their inhabitants.'' And he challenged Mr. Cook to devolve these powers to Overseas Territories -- if he really believed in "devolution and partnership.'' Mr. Howard -- whose party stripped the citizens of the then-Dependent Territories of the right to live and work in the UK to avoid accepting Britain's responsibility for millions of British Hong Kong Chinese -- also raised the spectre of full UK citizenship being abused.

He said Government would have to ensure that citizens of a third country could not become UK subjects by taking out citizenship in an Overseas Territory.'' But Mr. Cook said the European Convention on Human Rights had nothing to do with the European Union.

The minority Liberal Democratic Party, however, welcomed the extension of full right of abode in the UK for the 150,000 citizens of Britain's remaining colonies.

And Liberal Democratic Overseas Development spokeswoman Jenny Tonge dismissed fears in other UK Ministries -- the Home Office and Social Security -- that the move could cost Britain millions if people from overseas flooded into Britain.

She said: "The remaining Overseas Territories are very nice places and I think most of them will want to stay there.'' And she said an insistence on the Overseas Territories accepting UK treaty obligations on hanging, flogging and gay rights was fair.

Ms Tonge said: "If the Overseas Territories want to be British citizens, they can look after their own home affairs but they do have to sign up to those international agreements that Britain has signed up to.

"For instance, they must sign up to the Convention on Human Rights. It's not us being colonial at all because we've said to them, if you don't want to do this, well, you can be independent.

"A lot of our Overseas Territories in the past have done just that, of course, but you can't have it both ways.

"If you're going to be British citizens, you have got to obey the same laws as we do here in the mainland.'' Scots Labour MP Ian Davidson, a member of the reborn British Bermuda branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, said he had raised several points during questions to the Foreign Secretary.

Mr. Davidson said Mr. Cook had confirmed assistance in meeting international standards on measures to beat money-laundering, drugs cash and white collar crime would be given.

IMMIGRATION IMM