night attacked for "unseemly'' tactics.

Mr. Phil Perinchief was criticised by Senator Jerome Dill, lawyer for the pageant, for reading out a letter to him on TV.

The letter demands the immediate resignation of show organiser Mr. Terry Smith, following the controversial crowning of Miss Dianna Mitchell.

It also calls for a recount of the scores in the contest, and a public apology by Mr. Smith for the "humiliating debacle''.

And it claims the "reluctance of some judges to endorse the unannounced selection process'' supports the belief that the result was suspect.

Mr. Perinchief gives Mr. Smith until Tuesday to comply -- or face legal action.

But Sen. Dill last night refused to respond to the letter with a public comment. "I think this trend of reading the contents of letters from lawyer to lawyer to newspapers and television is unseemly.

"In fact, I want no part in it, and I refuse to litigate any matter in the Press. I really would like to leave it at that.'' Earlier this week, Sen. Dill and Mr. Smith defended Miss Mitchell's performance in the show and said the scoring system was accurate, designed to measure a range of talents.

One of the judges, the Hon. Pamela Gordon, is examining documents connected with the show to make sure she agrees with the way the winner was selected.

All the contestants beaten by Miss Mitchell in the pageant have now joined the legal battle led by Mr. Perinchief.

He says he has examined the court battle of beauty queen Miss Donna-Lee Ingham, who claimed her contract with the organiser of the 1987 Miss Bermuda contest had been broken.

She was runner-up in the show, but was refused the chance to compete in Miss World when the Miss Bermuda holder was discovered to be too old.

Miss Ingham won her case in 1990 and then-organiser Mr. Wentworth Christopher was ordered to pay her $26,000.