Southlands protesters are demanding an apology from the Premier after he suggested they were misleading the public over the South Shore development.

Members of the Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) say Dr. Ewart Brown made "highly derogatory" remarks during his Brown Bag lunch on Thursday. Dr. Brown implied campaigners were wrong to suggest residents would have to drive through a tunnel to cross the 37-acre development, and that the only people using it would be hotel guests.

Later that day a Government television broadcast showed Works and Engineering Minister Dennis Lister describing the tunnel, contradicting what the Premier had said. The 30-minute broadcast also featured Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield explaining why Cabinet approved the Special Development Order (SDO) for Southlands.

BEST committee member Lisa Vickers said: "Before the Premier reassured the public at his Brown Bag lunch about the Southlands tunnel, perhaps he should have looked at the development plans that were about to be broadcast to the entire Island that same evening in a Government TV programme that he himself also appeared in.

"These plans clearly showed that South Shore Road will be going under several tunnels. In the broadcast the Minister of Works and Engineering also described the tunnels in depth and completely contradicted what Dr. Brown had said earlier in the day.

"The fact that he is so mistaken about the tunnels leads me to beg the question: has he actually seen the plans for this resort that is apparently of 'national importance'?"

BEST chairman Stuart Hayward said: "We are responding to the Government's broadcast and the Premier's comments, which were highly derogatory. He accused environmentalists of misleading the public by saying there was going to be a tunnel. Less than half an hour later his Minister was describing the tunnel.

"As the Premier used this as an opportunity to denigrate the people concerned about this development, we think he owes us an apology. He has made false statements about environmentalists in general.

"We have looked at the plans and the tunnel is quite clear, so to suggest we are trying to mislead the public is outrageous."

Last night, a spokesman for the Premier admitted: "The Premier may have misspoken at a recent public event on the proposed road plan for the Southlands Resort. The Premier indicated that hotel guests would have to go under South Road to get to the beach. That statement is incorrect. The road plans call for hotel guests to go over South Road on a pedestrian overpass. I hope this clarifies any confusion."

Government says the Jumeirah Southlands resort is needed to cater for the Island's rising tourist numbers. It would be the first 'luxury resort' built in Bermuda for 35 years.

Environmental campaigners however, say the development will destroy one of the Island's last remaining areas of open space. More than 3,200 people have signed a BEST petition to 'Save South Shore'.

The 497-bed resort in Warwick now awaits the rubber-stamp of Ms Butterfield. In the television broadcast she said the resort would be a "facility that we will all be truly proud of".

BEST has accused the Minister of riding roughshod over public opinion. In an official statement, they said: "In the short period of time that was allowed for objection, thousands of Island residents signed a petition against the SDO and hundreds marched in protest and sent letters of objection to both Minister Butterfield and Premier Brown.

"What has followed is inexcusable. To the best of our knowledge, prior to this broadcast, neither the Minister, nor any member of her staff, have responded to these objections which leaves us to believe that her request for feedback from her own advisors and the Bermuda electorate was not genuine. Where were the next stages of consultation?"

Campaigners say they may now take their battle to 'Save South Shore' to a judicial review.

Mr. Hayward said: "A judicial review is something we are still exploring.

"The SDO has not yet been published in the Official Gazette and so there is still the a window of opportunity for the Minister to do the right thing. Clearly the public sentiment by the volume of letters she's received is not supportive of this project. We are of the opinion that the Government has not yet made a case for this particular hotel.

"Unfortunately it now appears the Government is using public funds to promote a commercial enterprise, through this television broadcast."

Last night, the Bermuda National Trust called for a moratorium on all SDOs. In a statement it said: "Once again Bermuda is presented with an enormous environmental cost for a promised future benefit and we question whether this price is too high. We believe that the debate on the use of SDOs for purposes such as Southlands extends further than any single project and it is only ever possible to fully understand the impact of these developments when considered in total.

"As such the Trust appeals to the Minister to place a moratorium on issuing any further SDOs for similar projects until such a time when the impact those Orders already granted, five in the last year alone, can be adequately assessed to determine how their impact on the Island has been absorbed."

The organisation also called for an Environmental Impact Assessment for public review on all major projects, plus regular public forums. "We believe that the challenge of balancing the economic and environmental needs of the Island is best met by encouraging public participation in that debate to the greatest extent possible."

Southlands protesters are to hold a candlelit vigil at Astwood Cove tomorrow between 8-9 p.m.