THE BRITISH Government is understood to be investigating Opposition claims that democracy on the island is being weakened.

And the independence and impartiality of the Speaker of the House ¿ who acts as referee during debates in the House of Assembly ¿ is also believed to be under investigation by Foreign and Commonwealth officials.

The probe is understood to have been launched after Speaker and PLP MP Stanley Lowe ruled that unanswered questions put to Ministers during one Parliamentary session could not be carried over to the next session.

A press statement released on Tuesday, read: "Today, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, the Hon. Stanley Lowe, JP, MP, weighed in as it relates to Opposition questions from previous Parliamentary sessions being raised in this current sitting.

"In fact, Speaker Lowe said any previous questions posed in the form of Parliamentary Questions will not receive a forum on the Floor of the House.

"Issues, raised in recent sittings include queries relating to Government travel among others.

"Speaker Lowe said, 'From a Parliamentary perspective, we have conceded to the fact that this is a new Parliament and as such, all matters, proceedings etc. which were pending prior to the prorogation of Parliament on May 9th, are quashed. In that vein, Ministers will not be required or obligated to respond to the questions put on Ministerial travel prior to December 20th, 2007.'

The statement also included a comment from Premier Ewart Brown, endorsing the Speaker's ruling.

It read: "And in response to the Speaker's decision, the Premier, Dr. the Hon. Ewart Brown, JP, MP said, 'The floor of the House is where substantive debate is supposed to occur. It is an outright rejection by the Speaker of the Opposition's time-wasting questions about travel and the like'."

The statement was headed 'The Cabinet Office' and was compiled by Government Press Officer Nea Talbot, who is spokeswoman for the Ministry of Tourism and Transport - portfolios held by Dr. Brown.

But although Mr. Lowe was quoted extensively in the release, he was apparently unable to expand on his statement when questioned by journalists.

According to a report in yesterday's Royal Gazette, "Mr. Lowe said he had only briefly caught a quick glimpse of it and he wanted to look at it again before explaining it".

That remark prompted at least one Opposition MP to question who had actually made the ruling in the first place.

The statement came just days after another controversy in Parliament, when Dr. Brown blocked the Opposition from asking questions about a lease agreement Government had signed with hotelier John Jefferis.

On Wednesday Opposition United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan (pictured) expressed his party's concerns, declaring that Mr. Lowe's announcement "is one we disagree with in its entirety because it weakens our democracy".

"We have investigated Parliamentary rules and procedures and find no foundation for the 'suspension of Parliamentary questions', as stated in the press release," Mr. Swan said.

"Shutting down questions to Ministers narrows the opportunities to hold a government to account for its actions and decisions.

"Indeed, we believe the Cabinet Office release has already undermined the role of Parliament as a watchdog. Questions submitted by us were rejected earlier today citing the Speaker's opinion in the press release.

"As things stand, it appears the Speaker will disallow any questions about Government activities from any earlier Parliamentary session, even though government business is a continuing and ongoing concern whether Parliament is in session or not.

"This is unacceptable and completely against the flow of precedent and more open government.

"The rulebook governing Parliamentary rules and procedures - Erskine and May - does not impose any such restriction on Parliamentary questions.

Indeed its only concern on the matter is to prevent the repetition of Parliamentary questions within the same session. Erskine and May (11-5-2) states: 'A question shall not refer to debates or answers to questions in the current session'.

"We are further concerned that Parliamentary precedent is being ditched in the rejection of questions related to ministerial travel prior to December 20th 2007.

"Questions spanning Government activities over two Parliamentary sessions have been answered in the past as a matter of routine by Government Ministers, including the Premier and the Deputy Premier. But the statement earlier today would put a stop to that.

"This is a matter where an out-of-the-blue Cabinet Office press statement is narrowing open government and dicing with time-tested parliamentary procedures and precedent.

"Our democracy is not something to be trifled with. The Speaker is one of its protectors and we look forward to his ruling on Friday."

Yesterday, a Foreign and Commonwealth Office source declined to give any details of any inquiry, although he did confirm that UK officials were aware of the situation and were looking into it. Neither Governor Sir Richard Gozney nor Deputy Governor Mark Capes could be contacted for comment.

This newspaper also e-mailed questions to Ms Talbot and Dr. Brown, asking if they could confirm that Mr. Lowe did amek the remarks attributed to him ini Tuesday's press release.

The Mid-Ocean News also asked the Premier if he believed that the impartiality of the Speaker would be compromised if rules and directives attributed to him had in fact been initiated by another party. No response to our e-mails was received by press time last night.