Progressive Labour Party Senator Walton Brown has hit out at threats made to The Royal Gazette Sports Editor Adrian Robson — labelling them "juvenile".

Last month Derrick Burgess, Minister of Works and Engineering, called for Mr. Robson's deportation over a column which joked that some of the under-19 cricketers should have been put on the stop list at the Airport after winning just one game.

Mr. Burgess had said: "Mr. Speaker, when anyone comes in this country as Adrian Robson has come, and insults the Premier and a member of this Parliament — he needs to go home.

"I just hope he doesn't have a PRC or status because if he doesn't then we will certainly try to rouse up my young folks to have him out of this country."

Sen. Brown, who has previously publicly pledged to stick up for expatriates as well as other segments of the community, told The Royal Gazette: "I totally believe we should strive always to sustain a democratic environment — that means allowing people to express themselves fully.

"If you want to disagree you should not threaten them. I find it juvenile. I like to act on principle.

"I can't defend that. You don't threaten violence because there is something you don't like. There's too much of that in Bermuda — it needs to stop."

Mr. Burgess has denied he was inciting violence.

The threats by Mr. Burgess were then followed by Government announcing it would ax its newspaper subscriptions to The Royal Gazette and cut print advertising — a move which has been described by critics, including some Progressive Labour Party supporters, as part of a plan to destabilise this newspaper for political reasons.

Sen. Brown has been linked by many with efforts to set up a rival newspaper to The Royal Gazette.

He said: "I have talked to people interested, that's the extent of my involvement. I think there is ongoing interest in strengthening democracy by having more than one daily voice."

But he said anyone wanting to put out a newspaper with a particular political stance wouldn't make money.

"It doesn't make business sense, it doesn't make for a viable newspaper."

He said in a larger market, such as Britain, papers could afford to lean in a political direction as there would be enough support to sustain them but there was no such leeway in Bermuda.

However, he said a different daily newspaper here would be bound to make different editorial decisions and approach news in a different way.

In November Premier Ewart Brown said a new newspaper would be hitting the stores soon but further elaboration was not forthcoming.

And it is understood representatives from the el Hyatt newspaper group, which runs English language newspapers throughout the Middle East and also in England, were in Bermuda early last year interviewing potential recruits.

However, little has been heard about the project since.

The Cayman Islands, with a population of 57,000 which is slightly smaller than Bermuda's, has two daily papers which are only published from Monday to Friday — the traditional Cayman Compass and the newer Caymannetnews.

However Jersey, another British territory off the coast of France has a population of 87,000 but just one newspaper — the Jersey Evening Post while Guernsey, with a population of 65,000 almost identical to Bermuda's, also has only one daily newspaper — the Guernsey Press and Star.