British Prime Minister Tony Blair may step into the row over the clean-up of the old US baselands with a personal plea to US president Bill Clinton, it was revealed yesterday.

Deputy Governor Tim Gurney said the PM's office, Number 10, Downing Street, had pledged assistance in Bermuda's fight for around $60 million in compensation for the mess left behind when the US Navy quit the Island in 1995.

Mr. Gurney told The Royal Gazette : "Number 10 is on board.

"They have made it clear that they are prepared to play a role in this.

"It is just a question of when the time is right to play that particular card.

"But they are aware of the position here and are happy to help if that is needed.'' And he added that the first in a bombardment of documents in support of Bermuda's claim for cash were set to start hitting Washington by Christmas.

Mr. Gurney stressed, however, that the negotiations with the US, kickstarted with a recent visit by top Foreign Office officials and staff from the British Embassy in Washington, were still at an early stage.

But he added: "It could well go Prime Minister to President, but we always want to keep something as a last resort.'' It is understood that the compensation row -- which began simmering almost as soon as the US Navy weighed anchor in the wake of the end of the Cold War -- is seen as likely to be a long haul.

And the UK would be reluctant to draft the Prime Minister into the battle until all other avenues had been exhausted.

Mr. Blair and Mr. Clinton, however, are said to have a close relationship.

And a personal appeal from Mr. Blair to the president could carry a lot of weight if negotiations with the US Department of Defence and the State Department were to eventually end in a stalemate.

Blair may make personal plea to Clinton over baselands mess It is understood the joint British/Bermuda game plan is likely to try and win hearts and minds in the Pentagon -- the headquarters of the US military -- and the State Department before approaching American political figures.

Diplomats from the British Embassy in Washington and the Foreign Office visited the site of the old US Naval Air Station in St. David's and the Southampton Annex last month -- and admitted they were stunned by the mess left behind by the Americans.

The UK civil servants also held top-level meetings with Government Ministers in a bid to thrash out the best approach to getting the US to pay up.

Mr. Gurney said: "The meetings agreed a lot of spade work had to be done prior to putting the case to the Americans.

"But the aim is to start the approaches to the US authorities before Christmas.'' When the US Navy quit Bermuda, problems left behind included tons of oil and potentially deadly asbestos, as well as poisonous heavy metals.

And at the Annex -- now known as Morgan's Point and earmarked for a major tourist development -- around 500,000 gallons of fuel is believed to have leaked from underground storage tanks into caves underneath the site. The official US position is that it will only pay for clean-ups where there is "an imminent threat to health and safety'' -- which it insists is not the case in Bermuda.

On board: Britain's Tony Blair ENVIROMENT ENV