A Progressive Labour Party backbencher's criticisms of the United Bermuda Party (UBP) are part of a campaign to distract the public from the PLP's internal problems, according to an Opposition Senator.

The Rev. Larry Lowe claimed in the House of Assembly on Friday that prospective UBP members had to "go through an initiation of evil".

But Sen. Leonard Santucci said: "My personal opinion is that Reverend Lowe was attempting to do as other of his colleagues have done - to distract people's attention form the pressing issues, of things that are going on or not going on with respect to the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) leadership. Chief among them is the internal dissension over the Premier's leadership," he said.

"They have not handled that in a responsible and acceptable manner."

Sen. Santucci said that it was unacceptable that the PLP had gone into a "blanket of silence" given that nine of her own MPs had asked for her resignation.

"Especially if you consider that two of her Cabinet colleagues voted against her, if The Royal Gazette report is accurate," he said.

Asked why he would expect an internal party matter to be resolved publicly, the senator said "everything else of this nature, she has dealt with publicly" and the rebel backbenchers had not chosen the party's internal mechanism for changing its leader.

And he said the "blanket of silence" could not be "rationalised" if one considers that backbencher Arthur Hodgson lost his Cabinet post for making a leadership challenge.

"The only way I can rationalise it is they are losing ground with the broader community," he said adding that those who wanted the Premier to resign were depending on the Bermuda Constitution and chose not to go through the party's established method of changing its leader.

"There is a division within the Progressive Labour Party with reference to the constitutional process of choosing a Government leader. The party's constitution does not subscribe to the Bermuda Constitution and so the MPs were seeking to thrash out their point based on the Bermuda Constitution."

Referring to the controversy over the Berkeley construction project, Rev. Lowe told his House colleagues Friday that prospective members of the UBP had to go "through an initiation of evil."

"It is public knowledge that these card carrying members tried to derail one of the major projects of the Government," he said.

House Speaker Stanley Lowe asked him to withdraw the comments after protest from the Opposition party.

"People who live in glass houses ought not to throw stones and I know Rev. Lowe knows that," said Sen Santucci.

"I believe what we are seeing evidence of is PLP MPs attempts to deflect attention away from the internal struggles of the party which will not go away until it is addressed and it behooves the Premier to address it."

Calling Rev. Lowe's comments "irresponsible" and "offbase" he went on to say that people who enter politics should be encouraged and not criticised - regardless of which party they joined.

He said that given that the call for her resignation resulted in a hung vote, it could be argued that the Governor could ask that the Premier's parliamentary colleagues demonstrate "further evidence of support for her leadership".

And when cabinet ministers vote against the Premier "there is a problem... It's my contention that people are being diverted from that one point... As opposed to looking at issues within his (Rev Lowe) own party, he's trying to make out that there's something wrong with the UBP."

When asked, he said he had not been asked to do anything evil for the UBP.