PREMIER Alex Scott has been charged with dishing out honours to members of an under-fire organisation in a bid to shore up their credibility.

Last month 11 members of the Bermuda Independence Commission were granted Queen?s Certificates and Badges of Honour for their work. The BIC was created by Government in December 2004 and given the task of assessing the pros and cons of Independence.

But pressure group Bermudians For Referendum (BFR) claims the awards are undeserved because the BIC failed to produce a balanced report ? and that the recognition is a thinly veiled attempt by the Premier to give commissioners a thin veneer of credibility.

The BIC?s final report was issued in September and applauded by the Premier. But it also provoked widespread outrage in the community and was condemned because of a number of errors and omissions.

Critics said the report was biased because it focused on the benefits of Independence while playing down any negative aspects. The report also omitted the Opposition?s position on the issue and claimed that no territory had ever held a referendum on Independence ? even though Bermuda held its own referendum in 1995.

This week BFR spokesman Mike Marsh said: ?I thought the awards were an absolute scandalous development.

?I cannot understand why the members of the BIC team have not only refused the badge for doing a lousy job and producing a flawed document, they should have resigned in any case before it was completed.

?I stated that to a number of them but of course they want glory and they want to look important but this was a scandalous development ? I couldn?t believe it.

?I think the Premier has an awful nerve to try and shove it down the throats of the population when they couldn?t even find out that there had ever been a referendum held in Bermuda before. They even brought in UN representatives who themselves had held referendums in their countries and yet the BIC report couldn?t find that out.

?It was a scandalous example of doing nothing for eight months and then producing a warped, biased report.?

Mr. Marsh pointed out that the BIC?s findings were also condemned by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, an independent organisation research group.

Referring to a COHA memorandum on the current Independence debate in Bermuda, Mr. Marsh said: ?I have never seen a document as strongly worded as this. They are an independent body monitoring political, economic and diplomatic issues affecting the western hemisphere.

?The one line that I noticed amongst many refers to the BIC report. It says ?Local Bermudian authorities repeatedly provided the public with a stream of obfuscations all carefully guided to provide the positive side to independence. It is widely known that the document is mortally flawed and little short of being worthless?.?

Mr. Marsh pointed out that COHA, founded in 1975, was an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, tax exempt research information organisation.

?It has been described in the US Senate floor as one of the nation?s most respected body of scholars and policy makers.?

The COHA memorandum continued: ?After months of allegedly carrying out its tasks, the BIC issued its report last September, provoking a wave of controversy over the body?s flaming lack of balance and undignified behaviour. The BIC?s seemingly partisan approach deserves to be seen as a chilling omen for the island?s prospects of an even more open society.?

The e-mailed Mr. Scott, through Government?s director of Communications, on a number of occasions in the last ten days asking why he believed the commissioners warranted recognition for their efforts. No response was received by Press time last night.