If the Bermuda Independence Commission has been tasked with coming up with potential names for an independent Bermuda they might want to consider "The Isles of Hypocrisy".

At times it's difficult to find the words to adequately illustrate the duplicity and double-speak of this Government. Thankfully though, with respects to the recent land policy change and the Trimingham's real estate sale ? well, it's not necessary. The words of our esteemed Cabinet Ministers more than suffice.

The recent land policy change, we were told loudly and proudly by Labour Minister Randy Horton, was designed "to preserve undeveloped land, commercial property and the majority of the housing stock for Bermudian ownership", and that "over the years, more and more land has gradually been sold away to non-Bermudians. It is time to turn off the tap".

At the time Mr. Horton's typically high-decibel levels were presumably intended to convey a passion for, and unwavering commitment to, protecting Bermudian real estate from foreign ownership. Today, it seems more like a shallow pre-emptive strike against the coming criticism following the Government's immediate violation of their very own brand spanking new policy. That tap wasn't off for long was it?

The Government now finds itself desperately trying to explain away their astounding hypocrisy in handing over the landmark Bermudian Trimingham's property ? the most prestigious of the commercial properties Mr. Horton had just vowed to protect, and the heart of our retail and tourist shopping experience ? to a huge non-Bermudian corporation after berating us all for selling out Bermudian real estate.

So back in Parliament, only seven days later, we were hearing that "the Bank of Bermuda is a local company", that "an alliance exists between the bank and global banking giant HSBC" and that "one reason permission was given for the move was because economic control would be retained in the hands of Bermudians", (not direct quotes) as reported in .

It's much easier to find those words now: incompetent, manipulative, misleading, hypocritical and dishonest, seem appropriate.

Government could argue, maybe successfully, that the recent real estate policy change was the right decision. They could also argue, again maybe successfully, that the decision to allow a special exemption for HSBC to acquire the Trimingham's properties was the right decision. But you can't argue both at the same time.

Evidently the Finance Minister and the Premier are aware of that impossibility, so they didn't try. Instead they presented us with a simple choice.

Either both Mr. Scott and Ms Cox, who authorised HSBC's acquisition of Bermudian property, suffer from severe short term memory loss, are horribly misinformed, or they "misled you because we had to", to borrow a convenient turn of phrase.

To describe HSBC's Bank of Bermuda subsidiary as a "local company" would be a legally correct statement. It would also be a completely dishonest attempt to obscure the practical reality.

HSBC's slogan might be "the world's local bank", but the Bank of Bermuda is by no means Bermudian owned and controlled. And that is OK. But let's not pretend it is still a "local" firm.

Ms Cox's most egregious statement however would be her description of the relationship between HSBC and the Bank of Bermuda as an "alliance". An alliance is what happens on reality shows like "Survivor" at Tribal Council, not corporate board rooms. In the real world ? no, not MTV's "The Real World", I mean the one where we non-Cabinet Ministers operate ? the relationship is referred to as "ownership and control".

Because of a decision the PLP took several years ago ? one that both Ms Cox and Mr. Scott participated in ? the Bank of Bermuda is now a wholly owned subsidiary of one of the largest multi-national banking corporations in the world, which in turn is headed by an entirely non-Bermudian board and almost entirely non-Bermudian shareholders.

Perhaps it was that obvious and undeniable truth that encouraged Government members to avoid using the name "HSBC" in Parliament, preferring instead the more familiar and Bermudian sounding "Bank of Bermuda", notwithstanding the fact that HSBC has made it clear that the old name will disappear after five years ? it's already disappeared from your "Bank of Bermuda" credit cards.

It might also seem comforting on the surface, to know that the CEO of the Bank of Bermuda is a well-respected Bermudian businessman, Mr. Phillip Butterfield.

Presumably this is what Ms Cox was grasping at when she said that approval was given because the property "would remain in the hands of Bermudians".

But that claim displays either a profound ignorance or a colossal dishonesty on her part. If Ms Cox returned to reality, at least briefly, she'd discover that Mr. Butterfield is simply the manager of one of the hundred-plus HSBC branches worldwide, who answers entirely to a non-Bermudian management, and could be replaced with a non-Bermudian or re-assigned elsewhere at any time. Mr. Butterfield may be a major player in Bermuda, but he's just one CEO of many in the vast HSBC Empire.

The Premier and his Finance Minister's duplicitous statements are worthy of at least a retraction, an apology and potentially resignations if they were genuinely unaware that they'd just handed the heart of our local retail district to a foreign corporation.

Pick your poison: hypocrisy, ignorance, incompetence, negligence or dishonesty. Maybe even all of the above.

Welcome to The Isles of Hypocrisy.