Attending meetings as an observer need not be a waste of time, Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons said yesterday.

Asked to respond to Premier Alex Scott's concerns that Bermuda will not have a substantial role to play at a UK-Caricom meeting on crime and security next month, Dr. Gibbons said that Mr. Scott may be prejudging the situation.

But he was undecided as to whether the meeting might be useful to Bermuda.

"It deals with Caribbean security issues and, from a geographical perspective, we are not in the Caribbean region even though we may be an associate member of Caricom," he said.

"And I guess the second question is, if it's determined it might be useful to Bermuda my own experience is, having attended quite a few Commonwealth Finance Ministers' meetings where Bermuda was an observer, Bermuda has been allowed to speak."

He added: "It has been my experience that if you have something constructive to say the UK has certainly facilitated that... Mr. Scott may be a bit hasty in prejudging the situation.

"If it were to be judged to be useful to Bermuda then there's certainly something to be gained from attending even in an observer capacity."

Dr. Gibbons took the opportunity to criticise the Premier for his handling of relations with the US Government.

"Mr. Scott has had ample opportunity to deal with the US government and indeed the UK Government in his own backyard on these kinds of issues through the presence here of the US Consul General who has a direct line not only to the State Department but also to the White House.

"And he could deal with these issues as they relate to security specifically as they relate to Bermuda."