The United Bermuda Party ‘sat back and ignored' several of the Island's environmental headaches whilst they were in power, it has been claimed.

National Liberal Party vice-chairman, Graeme Outerbridge said the UBP, who have been criticising the Government over their handling of the Baselands clean-up, dropped the ball a long time ago when they let the problems at Kindley Field and Morgan's Point go unchecked.

Earlier this year, the Government agreed upon a lump sum payment of $11 million for the repair of the Longbird Bridge in return for not claiming against the US for any future clean-up of their former lands in Bermuda.

Responding to UBP leader Dr. Grant Gibbons' opinion piece in last Wednesday's Royal Gazette on the Baselands issue, Mr. Outerbridge said: “In the very early running of his long-winded article, Grant Gibbons points out why the Americans would not be cleaning up the Baselands.

“You have to wonder about his thinking ability from that point on.”

Mr. Outerbridge suggested that the UBP Government did not even monitor the environmental problems at Kindley Field and Morgan's Point while they were in power.

“They just sat back and and ignored the problem right under their noses.”

He said because the bases were polluted on their watch, in many ways they were indirectly responsible for the environmental mess.

Mr. Outerbridge slammed their late reaction to the environmental problem, and it only came out of concern of losing money, not the damage which had been done.

He urged the present Government to become more aggressive in the fight for clean-up funds, but said it was not a battle that they could fight alone.

He said: “The English Government also has much to answer for on this problem and should be actively involved...”