The Auditor General was yesterday released from Police custody 24 hours after detectives investigating the leaking of documents over allegations of corruption at the Bermuda Housing Corporation raided his offices.

Police executed a search of the home of Auditor General Larry Dennis before releasing him on bail. No charges have been filed and Mr. Dennis was told he was bailed to report back to Hamilton Police Station on August 22.

Politicians last night branded his arrest a “witch hunt”, with the United Bermuda Party saying “things have gone too far”.

As detectives accompanied the Auditor General in a search of his home yesterday, this reporter and a Royal Gazette photographer were pulled over by Police officers and warned not to continue our observations. All of this happened on a momentous day for press freedom and free speech in Bermuda — when an appeal by the Attorney General and the Police for an injunction against further media reporting of the leaked dossier was briefly stalled, the reason being that Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and Government MP Nelson Bascome have filed writs against the Island’s media for libel and slander.

Lawyers for Dr. Brown and Mr. Bascome argued the injunction should stay in place — effectively silencing the media from reporting any further information from the file — until the libel hearing. The bid was rejected by the court.

Mr. Dennis was arrested and placed in custody on Monday following a raid on his Hamilton offices. Detectives removed three boxes — one marked “evidence” — believed to contain copies of the documents leaked to the media.

The Auditor General was taken to Prospect Police Station and then transferred to Hamilton Police Station for interview at 11a.m. yesterday. At 2.45 p.m. Mr. Dennis left with three detectives in an unmarked car to accompany them on a search of his home in Smith’s parish. The Royal Gazette>followed but at 2.55 p.m. our vehicle was stopped in Middle Road near Tee Street by two Police officers on motorbikes.

Despite being on a public road, we were asked for a driving licence and proof of insurance, then asked: “Why are you following that car? We have to ask you to desist. You are interfering with an investigation.”

On returning the vehicle documents, the officer then said: “Stay away from that.”

The Police returned Mr. Dennis to Hamilton Police Station at 3.40 p.m. and were not seen to take any evidence into the building.

At 4.15 p.m. the Auditor General was released and walked out of the station accompanied by his lawyer, Alan Dunch.

Mr. Dennis, who was unshaven and wore the same clothes as on his arrest on Monday evening, appeared drained but relieved.

He told The Royal Gazette: “I am fine. Thank you for being here. I do not want to make any comment at this time, I think I really need to think about what’s happened. I have to return here on August 22.”

Mr. Dennis would not say why he had been arrested, but that “no charges” were brought against him and he had been bailed “on my own recognisance”.

Recognisance is a legal term defined as: ‘a security entered into before a court with a condition to perform some act required by law, on failure of which a sum is forfeited’.

Asked whether the Constitution gave him protection against Police intrusion into his offices, Mr. Dennis said: “I will comment on that some time in the future.”

The Office of Auditor General oversees the Government’s fiscal conduct. His position is protected under the Constitution and he reports directly to the Governor.

Yesterday Deputy Governor Mark Capes said: “The Auditor General operates independently and does not have to account to anybody else.”

However, he would not comment on the arrest. “I have got nothing to say on that beyond saying I am aware of the Press reports that he has been arrested,” said Mr. Capes.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK said: “We are aware of the reports he has been arrested, allegedly into the Police investigation into missing documents, and we are unable to comment further at this time.”

She defined the role of Bermuda’s Auditor General as to “audit the accounts of the Senate and House of Assembly, and all the Government departments and officers”.

“The Bermuda Constitution allows him to operate independently of any authority,” she added.

The extraordinary events of the last few days come afteI>The Royal Gazette’s sister paper The Mid-Ocean News ran a story from a leaked Police dossier centring on allegations of corruption at the Bermuda Housing Corporation.

The documents reportedly revealed that Dr. Ewart Brown, former Premier Jennifer Smith, and former Ministers Renee Webb and Arthur Hodgson, were all investigated by Police looking into the BHC allegations.

Construction boss Zane DeSilva was another prominent person investigated as part of the probe into corruption at BHC, the leaked files reportedly showed.

Last night Michael Dunkley, Leader of the United Bermuda Party, said: “We are alarmed and deeply concerned at the latest developments stemming from the Bermuda Housing Corporation scandal.

“The detention of the Auditor General — the man who holds constitutional responsibility for investigating Government’s financial activities — must cause all right-thinking Bermudians to ask whether things have gone too far, and whether this could not have been handled in a more appropriate manner.

“While we recognise that the Police have a job to do, the search for the person or persons who leaked documents has become an overriding witch-hunt.”

Mr. Dunkley accused the Government of trying to detract attention from allegations that several of its representatives were investigated by Police.

“There are much more serious issues at play here, and those relate to the roles of senior members of Government and the part that they are alleged to have played in the original BHC scandal,” he said.

He reiterated the call for an independent inquiry into the affair.

“Our call for a Royal Commission into the BHC scandal was made to protect the national interest,” said Mr. Dunkley.

“A Royal Commission can provide a formal, independent, open and comprehensive inquiry to produce recommendations to get us back on track as a country.

“Right now, energies, time and resources are being channelled down a track — the wrong track — and away from issues that, if left unaddressed, will damage our system of governance and our worldwide reputation for integrity, fair play and trustworthiness.

“A Royal Commission will demonstrate to the world that we as a people are serious about doing the right thing and preserving our reputation for good governance.”

The Minister of Public Safety and Housing, Senator David Burch, responded to allegations made Mr. Dunkley about the current Police probe into the BHC files and the subsequent arrests. Sen. Burch said he does not share the view of the Leader of the Opposition, but as the matter is one of Police operations, he has asked the Commissioner of Police and the Governor to comment on those allegations.