Ousted Home Affairs Minister Randy Horton admitted yesterday that he was shocked and saddened by the Premier?s decision to move him to the Ministry of Environment in favour of union firebrand Derrick Burgess.

An ashen-faced Mr. Horton quoted Winston Churchill at a press conference at Government House: ?He said ?you know sometimes it?s not enough to do your best; sometimes you have to do what?s required?.

?I make no bones about the fact that I was very disappointed to have to leave Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety but I know what?s required of me.?

The former headteacher ? whose new department has a budget of just $25.6 million, compared to the $104.5 million he managed at the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety ? later told that he had not been expecting the telephone call from Alex Scott on Wednesday night telling him that he had lost the job he loved.

?To be quite frank, I was shocked,? he said. ?He told me the changes that were taking place and then we started to talk about options available.?

Mr. Horton said he felt his three years in charge had been successful, but added: ?Obviously, there are some things I wish could have gone better. Nobody in any organisation could say otherwise.?

He said he did not believe the Premier?s decision to shift him to the Environment Ministry had anything to do with his handling of recent high-profile gang crime ? which has included the Island?s first drive-by shooting, the gun murder of teenager Jason Lightbourne and a serious machete attack ? or the shortage of Police officers.

But he added: ?I can?t get inside the Premier?s head. I think we are on the right track.?

Mr. Horton paid emotional tribute to those at his former Ministry in front of the assembled media.

The department?s staff includes his brother, Permanent Secretary Robert Horton.

?I want everybody to know that I thoroughly enjoyed and loved the Ministry of Labour, Home Affairs and Public Safety. I loved that Ministry.?

Afterwards, Mr. Horton told this newspaper that if his comments were sombre it was ?only because I loved the Ministry I worked in so much?.

?If I didn?t feel the way I felt about loving the Ministry then I wouldn?t have been doing what I should have been doing,? he said. ?I felt I had great support and that I worked well with those people.?

Asked if he regretted anything about his time there, he said: ?I don?t think it?s fair to say regrets. I think as a politician you know that things change. When you move into a position you are not in that position for ever. If you are in politics, anything can happen.

?I felt as if I had developed significant relationships with all those working in that department. There were all kinds of things in that Ministry that are ongoing that I would love to have been there to continue.

?I think I made a difference in terms of the level of professionalism all across the Ministry. There was a professionalism that got better and better as my time went on. I just want to publicly thank everyone in the Ministry who worked for me.?

He said he did not consider the move a demotion. ?Every Ministry is important and I certainly think that the Environment is a very important Ministry that impacts on every single person in this country. It has a very poignant impact on the quality of life of people in Bermuda.?

Mr. Horton would not give his view on the building of a new $500 million hospital in the Botanical Gardens ? a decision his predecessor Neletha Butterfield, the new Education Minister, was rumoured to have opposed.

?I just came into the Ministry so don?t expect me to answer that question now,? he said. ?I haven?t had time to think about it all. I just know I?m getting over the whole idea of being there.?