A statement by new United Bermuda Party candidate Mark Pettingill on the plight of young black men in Bermuda has drawn ire from the Progressive Labour Party, but UBP Leader Wayne Furbert has responded saying the PLP has cast an unwarranted interpretation on the words of the lawyer.

The row stems from comments made by Mr. Pettingill last week when he announced his intention to stand at the next election for the UBP in Warwick West, replacing shadow education minister Neville Darrell.

The former Senator said voters had told him that the only black men who have "done well" under the current Government were MPs.

In reaction to this observation, PLP Senator Walter Roban last night called on UBP leader Mr. Furbert to condemn his candidate.

He said: "Mr. Furbert's failure to condemn UBP candidate Mark Pettingill's gratuitous slur on black Bermudians and to issue an apologise to the country on the issue compounds the offensiveness of Mr. Pettingill's remarks and raises serious questions about the Opposition Leader's fitness for Party leadership and for public office.

"Mr. Pettingill's racially charged and divisive public slur that 'the only black men who have done well under the current government were sitting MPs' has caused great alarm and has been heavily criticised by the Bermudian people."

However, Mr. Furbert responded by stating Mr. Pettingill had merely reported what voters had been saying to him. The UBP Leader said: "Sen. Roban has it totally wrong. What Mr. Pettingill said was what the voters had been telling him. It is the perception held by many that young black Bermudians are not doing well but the politicians are doing well."

He contrasted the housing situation and the increase in Ministers' salaries as examples.

"That's why the voters said this to Mark, it is the perception in the community. There are people out there and they are hurting, this is their perception," he explained.

In his statement Sen. Roban asked: "Do Mr. Furbert, the UBP Executive and the members of the Opposition party really believe that there are no examples of success among black Bermudians to be seen over the last eight years other than members of the Government?

"If Mr. Pettingill's comments are indicative of the Opposition party's perception about black Bermudians, it is clear that the UBP is a party imprisoned in the stereotypes of the past, and it reinforces why the UBP has suffered two consecutive election defeats and is headed for a third."