Pursuing the truth, it has been said, can be compared to peeling an onion.

As each new layer comes off, new facts emerge, sometimes contradicting and correcting earlier ?facts?.

On Monday, a editorial on the row over the appointment of Lt. Col. William White as Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment said the candidates had been examined by a British Army officer. The information came from a seemingly reliable source, but it turns out not to be true. For that, we apologise.

Similarly, much of what Sen. David Burch said last week in the Senate about the appointment also appears to be inaccurate.

Sen. Burch claimed that Lt. Col. White had been appointed as CO in spite of the fact that another candidate, widely thought to be Major Marc Telemaque, had come first in all the tests and assessments carried out.

Now Eugene Raynor, who is Honorary Colonel of the Regiment, the Regiment?s first black Commanding Officer and a member of the Defence Promotions Board, has denied this and is backed by other sources.

It would appear that in all the ?tests? carried out, which included interviews, an assessment by a Canadian firm, and considerations of the past performance and experience of the three candidates, no one officer stood head and shoulders above the rest.

As is often the case, all the candidates had different strengths and weaknesses. The Defence Promotions Board then had to make a decision about which of the candidates was best suited to the role and did so, recommending then-Major White for the post. This recommendation was then accepted by Governor Sir John Vereker.

The above process seems to pass the credibility test, but it raises concerns about Sen. Burch?s decision to speak out last week, when, at best, he was not armed with all the facts, and when, at worst, he was being deliberately misleading and malicious.

In speaking in the Senate, he was protected by parliamentary privilege and as a Cabinet Minister, he could also be seen as speaking in an official forum for the Government.

As a result, Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Randy Horton was obliged to stand in the House of Assembly on Saturday to state that Lt. Col. White had the support both of himself and of the Government ? a deliberate and straightforward rejection of a fellow Cabinet Minister?s statement. That is a serious step in the Westminster system, when one Minister is presumed to speak for all.

The effect of this row is to diminish Lt. Col. White?s ability to lead ? literally before he has got his feet under the desk.

Sen. Burch?s unwarranted attack on Gary Madeiros, the chairman of the Defence Board and the Defence Promotions Board for having the gall to be ?civilian? has now also been shown to be unfair, and will also have damaged the credibility of both boards.

It is worth noting that on the same day as Col. Raynor?s press conference, the Broadcasting Commission finally released its finding that Sen. Burch acted outside of the ?spirit? of the Broadcasting Regulations when he accused a caller of being a ?house nigger?.

Even though the Commission, predictably, then criticised the complainant in the case, and stated that Sen. Burch had publicly apologised for the remark when he seems to have done no such thing, this is still a mark against the Senator.

Having breached collective responsibility and been rebuked for making an utterly offensive remark, one might think Sen. Burch would do the honourable thing and offer to resign from the Cabinet.

Because that is unlikely to happen, Premier Alex Scott should dismiss him, not simply because he has brought the Government into disrepute, but for the eminently practical reason that whatever good he is doing in Works and Housing is now outweighed by the damage he is doing to the Government as a whole.