hiring of Bermuda's two top Police officers, the Progressive Labour Party said yesterday.

And the Bermuda Public Services Association and Committee for the Independence of Bermuda have joined the chorus of cries against the move.

The PLP has met with a member of British MP Mr. Bernie Grant's staff over the decision to recruit the new Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner from Britain, Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade said at a news conference.

The party wants Mr. Grant, who represents Tottenham, to brief relevant officials in the United Kingdom about the impact the decision to "re-colonialise'' the Bermuda Police will have, Mr. Wade said.

"The party is further requesting that Mr. Grant be prepared to bring questions to the floor of the House of Commons should there be a reluctance of the Foreign Office to undertake a review of this controversial decision.'' The overseas hiring move by the Governor and Government is in response to the imminent retirements of Commissioner Mr. Lennett (Lennie) Edwards and Deputy Commissioner Mr. Alex Forbes. The PLP has argued that the Commissioner's post should go to one of two Bermudian Assistant Commissioners -- Mr. Wayne Perinchief or Mr. Harold Moniz.

A non-Bermudian has not been brought in to head the force since Mr. George Duckett in 1969. Government has said the move is needed on a three-year contract to bridge a short-term leadership "vacuum'' in the force.

Mr. Wade said the PLP was acting "on behalf of a significant percentage of the community'' -- black and white -- in being "forced to bypass the Governor's office and expand to the UK the protest campaign''.

The Opposition Leader also named locations where petitions opposing the overseas hiring could be signed. But the move landed him in immediate hot water with one grocer.

"There's not going to be any signing here,'' said Lindo's Market Ltd.

managing director Mr. Giorgio Zanol, whose Devonshire store was listed along with the York Street Men's Shop in St. George's, Bermuda Industrial Union and PLP headquarters, and MP Mrs. Lois Browne Evans' chambers.

"They never contacted me,'' Mr. Zanol said. "If the PLP made a Press release that there is going to be a petition here, maybe they should have had the courtesy to call me and find out if there's going to be a petition here or not.'' Arrangements are also being made to have the petition available at Bassett's Somerset News Agency in Sandys, Mr. Wade said.

Mr. Wade said he did not know how many people had signed the petition, which calls on the Governor and Government to "review and rescind'' the decision to hire abroad. The PLP was not behind it, but he would not say who was.

"People can be victimised so easily that people are reluctant to come forward and take the spotlight,'' he said. "If all of Bermuda is for law and good order then this campaign must not fail -- it must succeed.'' Mr. Wade, who on Wednesday called for the resignation of Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. Irving Pearman, said it was "lunacy'' for Mr.

Pearman and Deputy Governor Mr. Peter Willis to be in London interviewing applicants for the jobs. Someone with policing expertise, like the current Commissioner, should have gone, he said.

The PLP was witnessing "a level of imcompetence that is unacceptable'' from Government, and was prepared to go an unspecified "step further'' in its campaign if necessary, he said.

But in a statement from London, Mr. Pearman said he was "simply carrying out responsibilities delegated to him for the Police''.

Those responsibilities include recruitment, training, planning and objectives, the appraisal system, and management training, he said.

The 20 original applicants had been reduced to eight by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and he and Mr. Willis were talking to the eight. "The Governor remains responsible, under the Constitution, for the appointments of both the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, after consultation with the Public Service Commission,'' Mr. Pearman said.

Meanwhile, BPSA general secretary Mr. Eugene Blakeney said the BPSA management committee at a meeting on Wednesday "unanimously agreed that the Government should promote the Bermudians based on their years of experience and academic achievements''.

If help is needed to address "outdated discipline, transfer and evaluation procedures,'' a consultant should be hired to advise the newly-appointed Bermudians, Mr. Blakeney said.

BPSA members are urged to sign the petition, which also has the support of the PLP and BIU, he said.

In a statement signed by chairman Mr. Walton Brown, the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda said Governor Lord Waddington was responsible for the hiring decision, which "might well exacerbate existing problems...at a time of increased concern over violence and declining morale in the Police force.''