An official investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct at Bermuda Regiment will be carried out if a formal complaint is lodged, Acting Public Safety Minister Walter Roban pledged last night.

The Minister was speaking publicly for the first time about The Royal Gazette's revelation on September 15 that claims of sexual assault and harassment have been made by more than a dozen male soldiers in the past two decades. Mr. Roban said in a statement issued at 8.30 p.m.: "The Bermuda Government takes allegations of this nature (sexual misconduct) very seriously.

"And I can assure the public that the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing does not condone the type of behaviour being alleged.

"Should a formal complaint be lodged then the next step would be an investigation by the appropriate body."

Regiment commanding officer (CO) Lieutenant Colonel Brian Gonsalves, speaking last night from Jamaica, said in response: "The Bermuda Regiment will cooperate with anybody, any authority, that needs to investigate any sort of claim."

The CO said the claims uncovered by this newspaper were made before he was in charge and he could not speak about them, except to say they were dealt with at the time.

"If there are new allegations or new information that come to light, we will absolutely act on it," he said, adding that he needed complaints in writing. "I want names, I want dates and I want where it happened."

Mr. Roban has previously not responded to requests for comment on the topic and anti-conscription campaigner Larry Marshall said earlier yesterday that Government's silence had so far been "deafening".

Mr. Marshall, from Bermudians Against the Draft (BAD), said an independent inquiry was urgently needed into the 13 claims. "We would hope that a full inquiry would be conducted because there are individuals at the Bermuda Regiment who have pertinent information on this type of abuse," said Mr. Marshall.

This newspaper uncovered the allegations as part of an ongoing investigation into Warwick Camp. Last month, we asked Lt. Col. Gonsalves for statistics on the number of accusations made during the Regiment's 44-year history.

He said at the time: "I would rather not report on that. It's not something that the public needs to know. It's not a problem."

Mr. Marshall said: "Based on the extremely autocratic and anti-democratic remarks made by the CO it is evident that an independent inquiry is necessary in order to get to the bottom of this scandalous ordeal."

Wylie Kamau Rudo, from a separate anti-draft group, Bermudians Against Conscription, said: "We applaud you on reporting on sexual abuse at the Bermuda Regiment.

"We ask that you follow these allegations to the end, as you will find massive failings in our social system, particularly as it pertains to our young men. The political fall out with reference to this issue will be enormous."

The Human Rights Commission is due to discuss the allegations at a meeting today. The organisation has the power to investigate alleged contraventions of the Human Rights Act 1981.

The Act states: "No person shall abuse any position of authority which he occupies in relation to any other person employed by him or by any concern which employs both of such persons, for the purpose of harassing that other person sexually."

It was reported yesterday that PLP member Marc Daniels has been asked to conduct a review into whether or not conscription should be abolished before the party's delegates' conference next month.

Government's Central Policy Unit is also understood to have looked at the Regiment as part of a wider-ranging report soon to be presented to Cabinet.

Mr. Marshall, whose group lost a bid to outlaw conscription in Bermuda's courts and is now going to the Privy Council in London, said: "They shouldn't be debating if conscription should end, they should be debating when and how. I hope the powers that be do the right thing, not because it's politically expedient, but because it's the right thing."

Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley said he welcomed any discussion in the community on the draft, adding that the UBP did not take a "party line" on the issue.

"I'm a bit sceptical hearing about this being discussed at a PLP party conference," said Senator Dunkley. "These are all issues that normally surface ahead of an election. I'm a bit sceptical about whether there is going to be any real initiative coming out of the discussion."

• Do you think there should be an inquiry into sexual misconduct claims at Warwick Camp? Email your views to news@royalgazette.bm.