speculating that a PLP supporting firm had been awarded the lucrative contract to build the new Berkeley Institute.

He said: "A decision has not been taken yet.'' However, he said one firm had come in exactly on the quantity surveyor's estimate while one had come in under budget but he refused to say whether a shortlist of two had been made from the original five bids.

Mr. Scott said he could neither confirm nor deny whether the lower bid had been made by Bermuda Tech and the spot-on bid had been made by Proactive which has PLP links.

However Mr. Scott said the bids were still being assessed by cabinet. He said: "The decision will be taken as soon as possible. We are still making evaluations. A decision will be taken on its merits. I know rumours have been rampant.''