Auditor General Larry Dennis has thanked residents for their support after they rallied to his defence following allegations that he was racist in his latest report on the Berkeley project.

Mr. Dennis, who presented his progress report on the $70 million school development to Parliament last Friday, said he had received a number of calls yesterday after the race allegations were made by the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU).

And he said he had been very encouraged by people's comments.

"All morning I have been on the phone to people who have been calling me over the comments the BIU made," said Mr. Dennis.

"They were all embarrassed by the comments, and some said they would be writing to the Press to express how they felt. They said they felt they needed to do whatever it took to say something about it. It has been encouraging."

BIU president Derrick Burgess lashed out at Mr. Dennis at a press conference on Monday, claiming that the auditor believed "people of African descent are illiterate and chained in darkness, and for them to have any type of success, they must be duly humble and suitably subservient."

Mr. Burgess claimed the only reason Mr. Dennis had carried out a special audit of the project was because the general contractors, Pro-Active Management Systems Ltd, was a black-owned company.

He also claimed the auditor had been acting outside of his remit when he questioned the adequacy of the performance bond (insurance) put up by Union Asset Holdings, which is owned by the BIU.

The auditor's report also said Ministry technical staff believed the school project, which is supposed to be finished and open for students next September, would be delayed by several months.

It said Pro-Active had drawn up another schedule in August this year, and had already fallen behind the new timetable.

However, if the project is delayed, The Royal Gazette believes Pro-Active is expected to pay a $2,000 penalty for every day it is not ready, and the performance bond may be called upon to meet that total figure.

But Mr. Burgess said: "We believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Auditor General's conjectures regarding the BIU's financial position would not have been made had he been dealing with an institution other than our union.

"He, like many others, believes that it is impossible for a working class organisation to have enough assets to guarantee such a bond required for such a project."

Mr. Dennis said on Monday, after reading the full BIU statement, that he believed "the tone and hysteria of the BIU press release, together with the outright and calculated false statements therein, suggest that the union officials themselves believe the people of African descent, and indeed the people of Bermuda, are illiterate and chained in darkness."

Mr. Dennis said he would be responding in full to the BIU comments tomorrow.

But he said yesterday the backlash following the release of his report had taken him by surprise.

He said: "I did not expect this. I expected a much higher discussion to my report."

And he said the response had been disappointing.

Pro-Active General Manager Arthur Ebbin has not responded to calls from The Royal Gazette.