Britain will not be paying for the clean-up of the former US baselands, Foreign and Commonwealth Office under-secretary of state Baroness Amos said yesterday.

But the mother country will continue to urge Bermuda to get its human rights legislation up to scratch.

The junior Minister for the Overseas Territories gave a definite "no" when asked if the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) Government had been led in any way to expect that Britain will pay for cleaning up millions of dollars worth of environmental damage left here by the Americans.

"No we haven't. This is something I have talked to the representatives of the Government representatives about. I was very pleased with the agreement that was reached with the United States. It was a very good agreement at the end of the day. I recognise the concerns about the environment and I think it's important that they are dealt with."

But she said that Britain will help with "technical support" only. "No we won't be paying for it." When asked she said the Environmental Charter signed by Britain and the Overseas Territories in September last year was an awareness raising document and did not impose any specific obligations on Britain with regard to the bases.

Responsibility for the former bases reverted back to Bermuda after years of negotiations with the United States which were taken over by Britain when the PLP came into power.

The final agreement left Bermuda with $11 million for the maintenance of Longbird Bridge and assurances that the US government will look into assistance for the regiment and a possible coast guard and promises to look favourably on requests for assistance.

Opposition criticism of the deal has centred on the cost of cleaning up the environmental waste which has been estimated at $65 million by a UBP commissioned study.

But Government has insisted that the taxpayer will not necessarily have to pay and said that Britain could be asked to pick up the tab.

The waste included asbestos, heavy metals and 500,000 gallons of jet fuel in Bassett's Cave.

On human rights Baroness Amos, who is here on a whirlwind familiarisation visit, said that Britain is still keen to have Bermuda specifically prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

"We encourage all the territories to take this on board and to take it on board seriously," said Baroness Amos.

"We know that sometimes it takes time to, one, sensitize the society, but, two also to put the right kind of framework in place in terms of legislation. In the United Kingdom, for example, our legislation has evolved over a period of time.

So I can understand that in terms of actually putting the framework in place that there are a number of steps and stages it has to go through. But our position remains that we want to encourage all of the Overseas Territories to put that legislative framework in place because we don't want to see discriminatory practices. But we also want to ensure that every individual feel that they can play their rightful place in society."

Besides the legislation, she added, her Government wanted to see "a greater awareness of these issues within the society" as well as a "groundswell of opinion".

"But I also recognise that there are areas where a Government has to take the lead. And that is why we will continue to talk to the Government of Bermuda about human rights issues."

Britain will not rule out appointing a local as Governor, the Baroness said when asked.

But she indicated that that scenario may not happen unless Bermuda is independent.

"It's partly about the evolving nature of the relationship. We are still in a position where Bermuda is an Overseas Territory, but in terms of its constitutional development it's by far the most advanced. So the Governor has a particular role in terms of representing the Crown. In other independent parts of the Commonwealth where the Queen is still the head of state and you have the Governor Generals, those tend to be locally appointed. So it's an evolving process - it's very much about the relationship, it's about the responsibilities... So it's certainly not something I would rule out but it depends on the nature of constitutional development."

She added that she felt that the relationship between Bermuda and Britain was a mature one. "My whole approach.. is to recognise that we have shared values, shared interests, shared principles but there are also times where our interests diverge. So what I want is a situation where we are able to have an honest open mature discussion with respect to those differences, to areas of tension, areas of awkwardness. So I suppose what I'm looking for is a grown up relationship. Once we have that respect and we understand the nature of the partnership we are engaged in, it makes my job easier."