off. It is important in any society that politicians should not misinform the public. It seems to us that it is doubly important in a tiny place like Bermuda where people do pay attention to what they are told and do remember what they hear. Politicians should be very careful to be seen and heard to be honest.

The public should be very much on its guard when a politician begins to stray from the truth on a regular basis. Politicians are only held accountable by the court of public opinion.

We are not talking about a politician who makes an honest mistake. If politicians make a mistake, and we all make mistakes, then they should admit the mistake and get on with business. As an example, if the UBP had only done that over Grape Bay Ltd. and McDonald's then we would all have been much better off.

But when a pattern develops and a politician is seen to be careless with the truth then the public has cause for real concern.

Opposing political views is the way a democracy works. Scoring political points is perfectly fair and it is completely acceptable under the Westminster system of Government. Using facts to point out the sins of omission or commission of an opponent is the way politics is conducted. Distorting the truth to score political points is not acceptable.

For some time now the angry Alex Scott, often assisted by ZBM television, has assumed the part of hatchet man for the Progressive Labour Party. That is a perfectly fair political role as long as he gets his facts right.

We have had some grave doubts in the past about some of his stands, especially his stand on the restructuring of the Police. First of all the PLP complained about the lack of policing and then Mr. Scott waged a campaign against the steps designed to improve the Police Service and policing. In the process he did a great deal of damage to no constructive purpose.

More recently Mr. Scott decided to take Sir David Gibbons to task over the lack of technical education in Bermuda. It was a strange choice and a very misinformed choice because the success of the old Bermuda Technical Institute is very much to Sir David's credit.

In the midst of a dispute over the decline of Bermudians in the workforce, Mr.

Scott said that Sir David, who in a public speech had lamented the decline in trained Bermudian tradesmen, was Premier when the Technical Institute closed.

In fact, Sir David was the first chairman of the Institute who got it moving and has long lamented its closing under the Premiership of Sir Edward Richards as a mistake for Bermuda. What Sir David said about the Institute in his speech last week was not new for him.

Mr. Scott did have time to check before he rushed to the media yet he even called for Sir David's resignation from the chairmanship of the Bank of Butterfield.

We have to wonder if this was just another salvo in Mr. Scott's general campaign to tear down anything which smacks of an organisation or if he simply got his facts wrong. Either way there is a problem and the public should be forewarned so that it is forearmed.