Tempers flared in the House of Assembly last night when Premier Dr. Ewart Brown responded to criticism from the United Bermuda Party about the fundraising efforts of the Progressive Labour Party and in particular the fundraising efforts of his wife, Wanda Brown.

In a speech laced with veiled threats, accusations of political corruption by the United Bermuda Party, and claims that racists were attempting to discredit the PLP, Dr. Brown accused the UBP of running scared of a well-funded PLP who he said would be difficult to beat in a general election.

Most of Dr. Brown's stinging comments were directed at former UBP Leader Dr. Grant Gibbons who last week raised the issue of Mrs. Brown's fundraising efforts and one of the sponsors, Kurron Shares of America, who have just recently entered into a new partnership with the Bermuda Hospital's Board.

Speaking on the motion to adjourn, Dr. Brown said it was not his intention to mount a personal attack on any individual in the House. He then took Dr. Grant to task for the recent comments the opposition member had made about the PLP and his wife.

“Mr. Speaker - for weeks - I have been quite, uncharacteristically quiet, while the de facto leader of the Opposition the Honourable Dr. Grant Gibbons has spewed forth with unkind, nasty and inaccurate statements about me my wife and my party.

“How dare Mr. Speaker that this want-to-be political leader accuse me and my party of unethical conduct?

“How dare Mr. Speaker, this uninformed representative of Bermuda's racist legacy make such groundless allegations about our normal, legal and ethical fundraising activities.”

The Premier said the PLP's fundraising efforts had been ‘normal and ordinary,” and questioned why Dr. Gibbons believed he could speak with such authority on this particular subject.

“Dr. Gibbons believes he can speak with such arrogant authority on “Pay-to-Play” and similar subjects. Why?”

In seeking to answer that question Dr. Brown accused Dr. Gibbons and the United Bermuda Party of being ‘some of Bermuda's best known players of ‘pay-to-play' politics.

The Premier said: “Has anyone ever heard of TBI (TeleBermuda International)? TBI was introduced to Bermuda in the early nineties.

“The Honourable Member Dr. Gibbons, at some time during the existence of that company became the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Telecommunications.”

At this point Dr. Gibbons interrupted the Premier and said that was never the case.

Dr. Gibbons: “I think I have to keep the Honourable Member honest here. I have never been the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Telecommunications.”

Dr. Brown: “He was both Mr. Speaker. He is saying that it was before Finance and what I am saying is that he was the Minister for Finance and the Minister of Telecommunications.”

Dr. Gibbons: “ I think that if the Honourable Member is going to mount an attack on me he may as well get the facts straight.

“I was Minister of Management and Technology, which also included the portfolio of Telecommunications - that ended in September of 1995 when I became the Minister of Finance.”

Dr. Brown then said Dr. Gibbons had formed a Trust during the time me managed the TBI negotiations.

Dr. Gibbons explained: “Mr. Speaker I must caution the Honourable Member that I did not form a Trust during that period at all. I did form a Trust in the last year, which has been declared.”

Dr. Brown then attacked Dr. Gibbons for comments the Premier said he made in the House of Assembly about former PLP leader and Premier, Alex Scott.

“Mr. Speaker, that Honourable member made a comment about my predecessor, and I heard no one on the other side take him on about it,” Dr. Brown continued. “He referred to the Honourable Premier at the time as a ‘political eunuch.

“Now black people respond negatively to any reference to castration. During slavery there was a big call for eunuch stations and it was at those stations that black men were sent to be castrated. If I called that member a racist dog. You see it is the dog that matters.

Dr. Gibbons interjected: “Mr. Speaker is he calling me a racist dog?”

Dr. Brown replied: “Mr. Speaker, I would never call that member a racist dog, because I can tell that he is not a dog.”

To which Dr. Gibbons responded: “Mr. Speaker the Premier has made several comments over the last few minutes that impugn my integrity and I would ask that he withdraw that comment. I ask that he withdraw that comment.”

Dr. Brown: Mr. Speaker had I said ‘yes when he asked me are you calling me a racist dog', then we would have had another issue.”

Dr. Brown said he did not see any need to explain to Dr. Gibbons, The Mid-Ocean News or The Royal Gazette, details of the PLP's fundraising campaign.

He said: “I do want the Honourable Member to know something that has apparently escaped him.

“There are black people on the planet who have money and some people who have friends that have money. And many of those people, including African Americans, support black politicians all over the world because they see some sort of commonality in their efforts. It doesn't mean that there is anything tricky going on.”

Dr. Brown then defended his wife's fundraising efforts: “Let me make it clear to the public, to the opposition and to my colleagues who do not know.

“In September when we were planning the Bermuda Music Festival my wife happened to notice that we were struggling to get the right talent for the festival and as the person that she is, she stepped up and said ‘you know what? I think I can put on a concert starring my friend Kathleen Battle and raise a hundred thousand dollars and help you to defray the costs of the event.

“Which was a wonderful thing that she didn't have to do. I don't know what that Honourable Member's wife has done to assist the country and I wouldn't begin to ask, but I do know that my wife participates in the life of the country.”

Dr. Brown said many businesses, both local and from overseas had sponsored the Kathleen Battle concert.

“There were 20 sponsors or so and he singled out Kurron, and if he doesn't know why then he should send the weekend trying to figure it out.”

He said Dr. Gibbons had “crossed the line” when he criticised his wife Wanda.

“Mr. Speaker, I have never had plans to cross this aisle, but in recent weeks that Honourable Member has said a few things that would encourage me to do so.

“I say to that Honourable Member that I would like to stay on this side of the House and not have come to the other side because it wouldn't be in order to vote for the UBP.”

Dr. Gibbons accused Dr. Brown of impugning his integrity by accusing him of racism when he was only doing his job as an Opposition member and holding the Government accountable.