A political spat over a lease deal for the running of the Coco Reef Hotel shows no signs of abating despite the intervention of Premier Alex Scott to address questions about how the deal was done and why it was subsequently altered.

The Premier has given answers to parliamentary questions posed by the United Bermuda Party into the mechanics of the deal which saw businessman John Jefferis take over the former Stonington Beach Hotel in 2003.

But, according to Shadow Finance Minister Pat Gordon-Pamplin, the answers do not go far enough and she is seeking further clarity from Government and the hotel.

After the original 21-year lease was signed it was subsequently extended to 50 years and extra clauses added that included the right to build and sell condominiums on the property.

The manner in which the deal has been handled has raised continuing questions from the UBP and, in a special report, Auditor General Larry Dennis has called for the lease to be re-tendered. However, Mr. Scott said a committee appointed to look into the handling of the lease agreement and its subsequent alterations had recommended no change to the lease as it now stands and no re-negotiation and ?secured the best terms for the deal at the time?.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said the altered lease now enjoyed by Mr. Jefferis was so different from the one offered during the original bidding process that it should be ?rendered void?.

She also said that, as a representative of the Attorney General?s chambers was a member of the transition committee that oversaw the lease agreement there could not be ?independent vetting? of the procedure.

Furthermore, Judith Hall-Bean and Michelle Khaldun, who were also on the transition committee that approved the lease details were subsequently on the Premier?s committee to review the terms of the lease.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin said: ?How on earth could the very people who approved the lease in the first instance be requested to review their own work? At the very least we would have expected an independent committee for the review.?

She also questioned the Department of Tourism?s response to ensure the lease terms and conditions are clearly and unambiguously defined thereby protecting the Government?s rights and interests.

The tourism department had indicated an addendum to the lease was being drawn up to address the concerns articulated in the Auditor?s observations and recommendations.

?The Premier has now indicated that there would be no changes to the original lease. This stance is clearly at variance with the Department of Tourism?s undertaking that changes would be made. Again, the public has been deceived,? said Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin.

And of the hotel she asked why was money from the sale of the former hotel?s furniture and fittings not returned to the public purse?

What guarantee or bond is there in the event that Coco Reef does not fulfil its lease obligations? How much training has been given to Bermudians at the sister hotel in Tobago as included in the lease agreement?

She added: ?We must remember that Coco Reef has no base rent for five years and an annual rent of 20 percent of gross annual profits thereafter. What if there are no profits? Essentially, Coco Reef has a free ride on the taxpayers? coat tails.?

Speaking to , Mr. Jefferis said he wished those who continually question the lease and running of the Coco Reefs Resort would research the facts.

And he has offered a personal tour of the hotel resort to Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin to allow her the opportunity to study the lease agreement made with Government.

He said: ?I feel we are being used as a political football and I?m also convinced that they (the politicians who raise these questions) have not been over to see what has been done here.

?I don?t believe that any of them have read the lease. I would be delighted to have Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin come here and I would give her a guided tour and explain the lease to her and give her the chance to study it ? anything that might clarify things.?

Answering specific points raised, he said only $800 had been made from the sale of some furniture from the previous hotel operation. Other furniture and fittings had eventually been given away to charities or offered to the neighbouring Bermuda College and others. But most of it had remained unwanted and had to be trucked away resulting in a net loss to the hotel, according to Mr. Jefferis.

As for the bond, the hotelier said $10 million has been invested in the property which the Government would assume should anything happen to negate the lease agreement.

He said there were four pages in the lease document spelling out the training obligations the hotel has entered into to provide practical experience for hospitality and culinary students and those doing technical courses such as plumbing, air-conditioning and horticulture for students who desire the opportunity.

The hotel is paying $200,000 rent in its first three years and this steps up to $250,000 and then $300,000 in future years. It must also pay 20 percent of its gross profits as a further component of the rent, said Mr. Jefferis.