Premier Ewart Brown has refused to explain how he can "support the right to access public information" yet refuse to let people know how many visitors have attended faith-based tourism events.

Former Opposition leader Wayne Furbert, a well-known member of the church community, claims faith-based tourism events have probably attracted no more than 100 tourists this financial year.

The Premier, who is also Tourism Minister, has repeatedly refused to answer specific questions over the initiative and failed to defend scheme organiser Andre Curtis against allegations that he has grossly misled the public by claiming roughly 1,500 tourists have been attracted in 2007-08.

Mr. Curtis, who receives $400,000 taxpayers' money to run faith-based tourism in 2007-08, is Dr. Brown's political campaigner in Warwick South Central. Both deny faith-based tourism is being used as a method for the Premier to get cash to Mr. Curtis as a thank you gesture.

When asked for a comment for a story about Government transparency earlier this week, Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette through his Press Secretary Glenn Jones: "I support the right to access public information".

This newspaper asked the Premier: "How can you say 'I support the right to access public information' and then deny the public the chance to see information which would let them assess for themselves the success (or lack of) a controversial scheme which has cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars?"

He did not reply.

Other questions put to the Premier, which he did not respond to, were:

• What do you say to Wayne Furbert's suggestion that your repeated failure to answer questions is because you and Mr. Curtis have been 'caught out' (in that, he says, faith-based tourism was set up as a way for you to get taxpayers' money to him as a thank you gesture) and that you are unable to justify the initiative with concrete statistics?

• What do you say to the suggestion that your repeated failure to answer questions is because of the bad publicity they may provide shortly before the General Election?

Further questions, which have been repeatedly put to the Department of Tourism, Mr. Jones and Mr. Curtis — and now Dr. Brown directly — but never received any response, are:

• How many tourists have come to Bermuda for the faith-based tourism events in 2007-08?

• How many events have there been in 2007-08?

• What was Weekend Fit For A King (which Mr. Curtis claims took place in September as part of faith-based tourism)?

• Are we to assume that the continued failure to respond is your way of saying that Mr. Curtis' claim that the figure so far is roughly 1,500 is a grossly misleading exaggeration?

• Are we to assume that, contrary to what Mr. Curtis claimed previously, no event by the name of Weekend Fit For A King has taken place in 2007-08?

• Please feel free to provide any information you can to prove these assumptions wrong.

Yesterday, Mr. Furbert said: "It says much once again. The Premier does not want to come and tell the people exactly where the money has gone. $400,000 is a considerable amount of money.

"We are still convinced the money given to Curtis was a payback for being his campaign chairman. If there's any one reason not to vote PLP, it's to make sure Andre Curtis does not get another $400,000."

According to his contract, Mr. Curtis must organise ten events in 2007-08, bringing 2,200 visitors to Bermuda.

When asked how many events he has organised so far, Mr. Curtis' responses have been variable. He has declined to comment recently, although last month he said he was not hurt by criticism — saying God was directing him and he had been moved to tears by the fact He had chosen him.