International news reports which “scandalise Bermuda’s name” last night came under attack from Premier Ewart Brown’s Press Secretary.

Glenn Jones said of the item about the Bermuda Housing Corporation affair: “Some of the recently reported claims have ignored the facts and they are filled with innuendo and inaccuracies — and their publication is mischievous. The news consumer should be aware of this.”

Mr. Jones was referring to reports on the internet and in news and magazine articles which were not carried in The Royal Gazette. He said they wrongly suggested an Association of Bermuda Insurance and Reinsurance (ABIR) luncheon hosted by the Premier was snubbed and that $8 million missing funds was pocketed by MPs.

“What is concerning is when misinformation is perpetrated on the internet and in news and magazine articles that is a gross distortion of the facts,” said Mr. Jones.

“It is a matter of public record that last week the Premier, Deputy Premier and United States Consul General were on a state visit to Washington, DC. However, no ABIR luncheon hosted by the Premier was snubbed. Reports to the contrary are blatantly false and the ABIR president Brad Kading said as much in a letter to the publication’s editor. The editor has quite properly removed the inaccuracy from its website.

“It must be said in the strongest possible terms that any assertion of $8 million in missing funds being pocketed by MPs is simply not factual — the investigative authorities in Bermuda will certainly agree to that point if asked.”