the Progressive Labour Party.

He said: "I certainly don't intend to run for the leadership. I'm quite busy re-inventing tourism and expect to be for some time. He added: "Premier Jennifer Smith has my full support and continues to have that.'' Mr. Allen spoke out after a party insider urged him to bid for the leadership -- and the Premiership -- against Ms Smith at the party's biannual elections in November.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott -- unlikely to command much support from a more centrist PLP -- has also ruled out a challenge. The insider said Mr. Allen would be the best candidate to repair splits in the community under Ms Smith's leadership.

Street Talk: Page 9 Allen rules out challenge The source added that Mr. Allen was not only acceptable to black people, but would be able to draw in white people to the PLP. And the source said international contacts forged by Mr. Allen would be vital in a global economy and with the prospect of tough economic times ahead.

The call for Mr. Allen -- who is white -- to step forward and fill the gap came after Ms Smith said she expected to face a challenge to her leadership at the PLP annual general conference -- the first contest since 1996 and the first since the party won power in 1998.

Party sources said then that the vast majority of Parliamentarians -- MPs and Senators -- would vote for other candidates, although PLP branch delegates wield enormous power in leadership polls.

PLP insiders fingered Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson as a contender most likely to command support.

But Development and Opportunity Minister Terry Lister, Transport Minister Ewart Brown and Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb were also touted as possibles -- or as power brokers for a more favoured candidate like Mr.

Hodgson.

But yesterday political pundit and civil rights veteran Eva Hodgson -- who stressed she was merely a keen observer of the PLP -- condemned party members who argued a white leader would help the PLP.

She said: "David Allen has as much right to vie for the leadership as any other Cabinet Minister, but from what I can gather, the Ministers themselves seem to be concentrating on their portfolios -- that seems to be all they're talking about.'' Dr. Hodgson said the push for Mr. Allen "reinforced'' what she had said after newspaper opinion pieces accused the PLP of being racist. She added: "This person who talked to the Gazette merely illustrated what I was saying -- that there has always been a strain within the PLP which has been very anxious to court the white community and certainly they have never been the ones to talk about racial solidarity.'' Dr. Hodgson said: "It's clear there is this strain within the PLP, people who are prepared to court white people even if it means rejecting those who may be black.

"It's this desire to court white folks, while rejecting black folks, which kept the PLP from winning for a long time.'' And she accused the insider who backed Mr. Allen of "political naivete'' in talking about him being able to attract white voters.

Dr. Hodgson said: "If he hasn't been able to attract white voters all this time, clearly he wouldn't attract them even if he was in a leadership position.'' And she added that claims that Mr. Hodgson -- who is her brother -- and Mr.

Lister "carried too much baggage'' to lead the party were wrong.

She said Mr. Lister's controversial initiative on race reporting in the workplace was part of Government policy -- not personal baggage.

And she added that similar policies were commonplace in the UK and elsewhere.

Dr. Hodgson said Mr. Hodgson had won widespread approval among the white community for his drive to clean up the Island and call a halt to over-development of Bermuda's scarce resources.

Dr. Hodgson added: "It is the white community which has always been concerned about the environment...Mr. Hodgson has had to make a specific effort to alert the black community to the importance of it and he has had some success in that area.'' She said: "If there were to be a challenge for the leadership, it would be incredible to me that a person in a significant role in the PLP was concerning themselves about courting the white community rather than concerning themselves with what was happening within the party.

"They need to be concerned about the continued stability of the PLP -- my concern is priorities.'' And -- when asked what kind of message electing David Allen as leader would send to the black community -- Dr. Hodgson declined to comment, but shrugged her shoulders.