The Premier responded to accusations of Government cronyism yesterday with an attack on Opposition leader Michael Dunkley.

Dr. Ewart Brown attempted to turn the tables on the UBP by pointing to Mr. Dunkley’s control of Bermuda’s milk supply.

His comments are certain to intensify the row between the two parties after Bob Richards of the UBP and the PLP’s Wayne Caines clashed in the Senate this week over the vehicles emissions testing contract.

Shadow Transport Minister Sen. Richards suggested that Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd. was awarded the sole contract because it was run by Donal Smith, a cousin of the Premier.

The contract - worth an annual $1 million - was never put out to tender, but the Government says BEC was the only company with the specialist equipment and facilities.

It says the contract was scrutinised at length by the Ministry of Transport, the Attorney General’s Chambers, TCD and the Cabinet.

However Sen. Richards told the Senate that BEC’s monopoly amounted to “a poisoned fruit”.

“What we have here is an opportunity to properly privatise a Government function which has been lost - to put this out to the private sector. It’s all gone,” he said.

“It’s a poisoned fruit because the process is poisoned. It’s a pattern of cronyism, a cronyism whose tentacles have reached across all of Bermuda.”

Sen. Caines, Junior Minister for Transport, insisted the tendering process had undergone “full scrutiny” and conformed to strict Financial Instructions.

He said BEC’s “preparedness to invest in the expensive equipment and the specialised personnel required to provide the service made them an obvious preferred contractor, and thereafter a most suitable choice for the sole service contract”.

Yesterday, Transport Minister Dr. Brown added his own comments on the issue, taking a swipe at Mr. Dunkley in the process.

“This week’s drumbeat of unsubstantiated attacks from the Opposition are irresponsible,” said Dr. Brown.

“This is perhaps a good time to remind the public of a reality conveniently left out by the Opposition. The Bermuda Emissions Control Ltd. was first sought to fill an emissions testing contract by the last United Bermuda Party Government. Once again, a PLP Government has tidied up unfinished business. These are the sort of differences between a party that governs and a party that never could.”

The Premier added: “What Sen. Bob Richards disdainfully referred to as a handout, I call entrepreneurship — an arena fostered by this Government where the most qualified gets the job, no matter who they are related to or the colour of their skin.

“If Sen. Richards wants to probe untoward financial gain he should perhaps take a look in his own backyard. His Opposition Leader has a virtual monopolisation in his dairy business, a competitive edge protected by UBP-inspired legislation.

“His former Opposition Leader was running the country’s finances when Ministers were permitted to hide their bounty under the guise of trusts. Perhaps these examples illustrate the racial double standard recent defectors of the UBP have warned us about. Well, I’m not fooled by this racial double standard and neither is the public.”