THE complete absence of Government and Opposition MPs from the official greeting party which met new Governor Sir John Vereker on his arrival at Bermuda Airport this week was due to a late change of plan, it emerged yesterday.

Cabinet Ministers and the Leader of the Opposition were originally invited to greet Sir John, but the invitations were withdrawn from the political dignitaries days later.

In a copy of a letter, dated March 24 - just 17 days before Sir John's eventual arrival - all Cabinet Ministers and their spouses, Opposition Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons, Chief Justice Austin Ward and his wife, and Cabinet Secretary John Drinkwater and his wife were all on the list of those invited, as well as the service chiefs who made up the eventual welcoming group.

The island's last two Governors sent from Britain, Thorold Masefield and Lord Waddington, were met by the Premiers of the time and several MPs and Government Ministers. United Bermuda Party leader Dr. Gibbons yesterday slammed the change of plan as a break with protocol that showed "a lack of common courtesy".

And he confirmed that he had been "dis-invited" by a phone call from Deputy Governor Tim Gurney days after receiving his copy of the letter.

Mr. Gurney said the decision to invite no politicians to join the Governor's arrival greeting party was down to a desire to give Sir John a low-key greeting, following the same pattern as former Governor Masefield's airport farewell.

One political source, who did not wish to be named, believed there could be a political motive to the down-scaling of the official welcoming party. The source suggested that the original date of Sir John's arrival of April 9 - he was eventually delayed by a day - may not have been convenient for Premier Jennifer Smith, who was recently away on a trip to the Caribbean, and that she would not want to be upstaged by other politicians.

The source added the opinion that Mr. Gurney had been "put in a very difficult position".

This newspaper yesterday asked Premier Smith, via questions faxed to Government Information Services, why no Government MPs had been invited, whether the change of plan had been at the behest of the Government and why the original invitations had been withdrawn. She had not replied to the questions by press time last night.

Dr. Gibbons said yesterday: "I think it was very unfortunate that we did not have a single member of Government or the Opposition down there to greet the new Governor.

"I was invited by letter, but about two weeks ago Mr. Gurney called me to say it would be a low-key reception and that it was not necessary for me to be down there.

"The Governor still holds an important position in Bermuda and we should continue to see him as an ally and, from my perspective, it's the least we could do to be down there to greet him.

"I'm disappointed. This shows a lack of common courtesy and a change in protocol from the welcoming that has been given to former Governors."

A politician-free welcoming committee was what had been planned, said Mr. Gurney, shortly before Sir John was officially sworn in as Governor by Chief Justice Ward yesterday.

On Tuesday, Sir John and his wife Judy were met at the airport by an official delegation including Lt. Col. David Gibbons of the Regiment, Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith, Chief Fire Officer Vincent Hollinsid and Airport operations manager Lester Nelson, as well as Mr. Gurney and his wife Denise.

Asked if he was surprised that no politicians had turned out to greet Sir John, Mr. Gurney said: "I was not surprised in the least, because that's how it was planned.

"This followed the pattern of the departure of the previous Governor, Thorold Masefield, who had a small, low-key farewell, with the Deputy Governor and the service chiefs there. The same pattern has been followed for Sir John's arrival."

Mr. Gurney explained the decision had been taken by the Ceremonial Committee, of which he was chairman.

"In bygone times, the Governor has been met by a bigger arrival committee, but that was not a very comfortable way of doing it. We thought it would be better for the Governor to have 24 to 36 hours to acclimatise before starting the official welcoming process."

Sir John's predecessor, Thorold Masefield, was met by then-Premier Pamela Gordon as well five Cabinet Minsters on his arrival at the airport in June, 1997.

And when Lord and Lady Waddington first arrived in August, 1992, they were greeted by then-Premier Sir John Swan and Lady Swan, as well as several MPs and their spouses.