meeting with British Secretary of State for Defence the Hon. Malcolm Rifkind.

"While he regards the future of Malabar as a closed issue, he would be willing to reopen it if I presented him with a compelling economic case,'' Mr.

Allason told The Royal Gazette .

The backbencher, who has a home in Tucker's Town and a Bermudian wife, said he would attempt to prepare an economic case for keeping the Royal Navy base at Dockyard and meet with Mr. Rifkind again.

"I am told that there is quite an interesting proposal involving a smaller complement and a higher degree of locally-trained staff,'' he said.

Earlier, he questioned whether the lack of a naval base in Bermuda would mean higher British defence costs for air transport.

Mr. Rifkind is set to visit the Island for a Parliamentary conference on May 6 or 7. It is not known whether he will visit Malabar, scheduled for closure in April of 1995.

Mr. Allason, who chairs the Anglo-Bermuda Parliamentary Group at Westminster, said in an interview in London last Wednesday that while he felt there were economic reasons for keeping Malabar, "the costs involved are irrelevant.

"The accountants have taken too much of a grip on the Ministry of Defence.

"It is in Britain's long-term interests to retain a facility in Bermuda because of its strategic location.'' After meeting with Mr. Rifkind, Mr. Allason said: "I'm not going to be able to swing it on anything other than an economic case.'' Whether a compelling case could be made "remains to be seen,'' he said.

"It's a long shot. I don't want to get up any false hopes over this.'' The Malabar closure, announced in mid-December, was seen by Premier the Hon.

Sir John Swan as "a further erosion of ties with the British Government''.

It came on the heels of the closure of the Canadian Base in Bermuda and the announcement that the US Naval Air Station would close by September of 1995.

It also became the springboard for Bermuda's current Independence debate.