The US Government does not share the view of British MP Edward Leigh that Bermuda's record on combatting money laundering is "appalling".

US Consul General Gregory Slayton, America's top representative on the Island, told delegates at the International Reinsurance Summit yesterday that the US recognised significant efforts being made to strengthen the Island's anti-money laundering (AML) regime.

Mr. Slayton said he believed Bermuda-US relations were "at an all-time high" and added that he was confident that whoever emerged victorious in the US Presidential election in November, the relationship would continue to thrive.

"We, the US Government, are pleased to see the Premier committing his Government to strengthening anti-money laundering legislation," Mr. Slayton said in his keynote speech at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

He said the US considered money laundering as the circulation system of some of the worst evils in the world, including drug trafficking and terrorism financing, and was "encouraged" by Bermuda's cross-Ministry efforts to clamp down on it.

Mr. Leigh, who is chairman of the UK's Committee of Public Accounts (CPA) criticised the Island during a grilling of the top civil servant in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Peter Ricketts.

"The British Parliamentarian Edward Leigh called Bermuda's anti-money laundering effort 'appalling'," Mr. Slayton said. "We, the US Government, do not agree with this statement. We do agree that there is significant room for improvement.

"We are encouraged by the steps being taken and stand by as partners, willing to help in whatever way we can."

Mr. Slayton said he had recently spoken with Robert Kimmitt, deputy secretary of the US Treasury, and reported that progress on anti-money laundering measures was going well.

"Make no mistake about it, there is a risk," Mr. Slayton added. "No jurisdiction can stand on its laurels. Bermuda is well known as a financial centre and there are something like a quarter of a trillion US dollars in assets here. But there is competition for those assets. Having a strong and effective anti-money laundering policy and prosecutorial regime is an important part of a nation's reputation."

Mr. Slayton, whose term as Consul General is scheduled to end in the Spring of next year, said there was a "much better understanding of what Bermuda brings to the table" among US lawmakers as a result of the visits to Washington by delegations from the Island over the last two years.

Arranged by Mr. Slayton to give Bermuda politicians and their US counterparts a chance to meet and talk, the Consul General said the visits meant "Bermuda-US relations are on a very solid bipartisan foundation" as the US nears elections.

"If (Republican candidate) John McCain becomes President, he is a free-trade and low-tax advocate and that would augur well for continuing strengthening of relations," Mr. Slayton said.

"I think if (Democrat) Senator Barack Obama becomes President, that would also be a positive thing. I have great respect for him and he would bring fresh thinking to the table.

"Senator Hillary Clinton is a long shot at the moment, but if she were to become President, I would hope US-Bermuda relations would continue to thrive."

Whatever happened, he said he hoped his successor would continue the momentum of the last three or four years, which had turned around a relationship which had suffered from "benign neglect" on the part of both sides in the years before.

A real risk facing the Island was educational, Mr. Slayton added. An education survey by Jane's had put Bermuda behind the likes of competing jurisdictions the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, he noted.

In Bermuda, as in the US, he said one of the greatest challenges was to produce an adequate public education system. "To condemn 20 to 30 percent of young people to a future of menial labour, because they don't have the intellectual resources to compete in the 21st century economy - that is wrong," Mr. Slayton said. Premier Ewart Brown and Education Minister Randolph Horton earned Mr. Slayton's praise for having conceded the educational system was "broken" and making efforts to reform it, with the help of some from the private sector, such as Bank of Bermuda chief executive officer Philip Butterfield.