Public Safety Minister David Burch yesterday defended a Police raid on the Auditor General's office, warning that "no one is above the law".

The Minister said the swoop on Larry Dennis's Hamilton office on Friday morning in connection with a leaked Police file on the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal was conducted after a search warrant was obtained through the courts.

Mr. Dennis, 63, told The Royal Gazette the raid was an "over-display of power" and claimed detectives were trying to link him to the leak. Lt. Col. Burch said he was "horrified by the comments of the Auditor General, the Deputy Opposition Leader and certain members of the media which implied that the Bermuda Police Service (BPS) and the Commissioner of Police had some kind of vendetta against... the Auditor General".

He said that Mr. Dennis's claim meant he was also accusing the judiciary of collusion, as an independent judge must have been satisfied that the raid was justified before issuing the warrant. "The suggestion or intimation that the BPS and the judiciary are in cahoots against anyone is simply ludicrous," said the Minister.

He claimed that the United Bermuda Party's Patricia Gordon-Pamplin had suggested in a television interview on Friday evening that Mr. Dennis — who is responsible for independently auditing the financial statements of Government — was above the law.

"She should... explain to the people of Bermuda why the execution of a legally obtained search warrant for the 'back-of-town' is fighting crime whilst the execution of a legally obtained search warrant for 'downtown' is vigilante," he said.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin retorted last night: "The Minister is confused by his own rhetoric. At no time have I indicated that the Auditor General is above the law.

"I in no way differentiate between search warrants wherever executed and this is another tactic of the Government's attempt to exploit the emotions of those whom they would try to influence. Bermudians are not dumb as the Minister would seem to have us believe."

Lt. Col. Burch revealed that he was not consulted on the raid before it happened but was informed of events afterwards.

"I anticipate the normal process will be followed in this case," he said. "At the conclusion of the investigation a file will be passed to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will then decide if there is sufficient evidence to launch a prosecution."

He added that Government fully supported the rule of law and he wished to emphasise that no one was above the law.

Friday's raid followed a similar swoop on Mr. Dennis's office five months ago by detectives trying to discover how the BHC file was leaked to the media.

Police have stated that the master copy of the dossier — which names Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and other Government figures as among those investigated as part of a fraud inquiry into BHC — was stolen.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said the initial confiscation of documentation then appeared to have been incomplete. "Whether or not a search warrant has been issued is beside the point that if equal dispatch had been used to solve some real, serious crimes, many families would be able to rest knowing that justice had been seen to be done.

"The office of the Auditor General should function as an independent entity and should be recognised as requiring documentation in order to fulfil its mandate of reporting on the astute oversight of the public purse.

"It seems that pressure has been brought to bear in order to ensure suppression of information that might be detrimental to those against whom allegations have already been made publicly."

She said her party would take steps to strengthen the Auditor General's office rather than "subject it to deplorable witch-hunts". "We will not be deterred by misinformation being spouted by the Minister of Public Safety," she added.

Mr. Dennis could not be contacted for comment.