Government has come in for criticism from the Opposition benches for failing to respond publicly to a US website that portrayed Bermuda in a less than flattering light.

In Parliament on Friday, Opposition Whip Maxwell Burgess said Government had said or done little to quell claims in the US Government website travel advisory that sexual assaults and date rape drugs were prevalent on the Island.

He listed a number of incidents on various parts of the Island, including recent trouble in St. George's, and said Government needed to be seen to be doing more, especially with respect to the travel warning written in conjunction with US Consul Jennifer Schools.

Mr. Burgess said nothing had been said officially by Government since The Royal Gazette reported the contents of the website in April.

Labour and Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said Government had acted after reading the warning, and had asked Government House to become involved.

Mr. Lister said: "We have talked to Government House and asked them to go to the US and say that what ever they put out, please be comfortable with it in your heart of hearts.

"What can we do? We can't tell them what to write."

Mr. Lister said at first, after the advisory was brought to his attention, he was very annoyed, and then concerned.

But the Minister said then he took the time to read the advisory, and said nothing in it was inaccurate. He said if the warning remarks were balanced with the remainder of the travel information, it was merely asking tourists to act with care and caution.

He said: "It says Bermuda has a low to moderate crime rate. The purpose of the advisory is to advise people to act in a sensible manner.

"If it put out an advisory that said 'crime free', we would be upset. But it goes to say that petty thefts and assaults do occur. This warning is saying act responsibly and sensibly when you come to Bermuda.

"When I see here warnings about acquaintance rape and date rape, it does happen. It does not happen all that often, but it does happen. Let me tell you, one date rape is one too many, so it's fair to warn people to be sensible."

The Opposition said Government should have informed the community of any action it had taken, including going to Government House.

Shadow Health Minister Michael Dunkley accused Government of being too reactive, instead of proactive.

He said Mr. Burgess had simply brought up the advisory because, to his knowledge, nothing had been done.

Mr. Dunkley added: "They said they had already acted, but nobody knew what they did. We sit 700 miles from 100 million people who will travel. We are safe, we should be seen as safe. The door is there, we just need to open it.

"If the statement that has come out tonight had come out three weeks' ago...

"The first reaction tonight was like chickens with their heads cut off. The US keeps Bermuda ticking. When they put out a travel advisory, it behoves us to act quickly and loudly. But it did not happen, it only happens after the Opposition stands up."

After Mr. Burgess made his comments about the advisory and crime on the Island, St. George's Government backbencher Rev. Wilbur Lowe took to his feet to protest at the comments about criminal activity in his constituency.

He said he was tired of hearing people talk about crime in St. George's as though it did not happen anywhere else on the Island.

Rev. Lowe said: "I'm sick of people talking about St. George's. The experiences we are having in St. George's are all over the Island.

"We are working diligently to deal with this problem. I'm walking the streets. The brother is misleading the House saying that the Government is not dealing with the problem.

"We realise St. George's is an historical site and we want to protect it and we want to make it a pleasant place for tourists and others to come."

Shadow Works and Engineering Minister Erwin Adderley said Rev. Lowe had missed the point of Mr. Burgess's comments.

He added: "There was no intention from this side to pick on St. George's".