proposals contained in the White Paper.

There are legitimate concerns to be raised and discussed, particularly over Britain's warnings that it could impose social and financial legislation to bring the Overseas Territories into line with British and international regulations against the wishes of the OTs.

This rightly suggests that some of Bermuda's hard-won autonomy is threatened, in turn adding impetus to the arguments for Independence.

That has to be balanced against the advantages that British citizenship would bring and the possibility that in the financial arena at any rate, Bermuda might have to meet international standards anyway.

Some pro-Independence campaigners also seem to fear that the grant of British passports could mean that the dream of Independence will never be realised if the advantages of UK passports prove too great.

This presumably is the prime motivation behind some of lawyer Phil Perinchief's recent utterances.

It may seem ironic to some that a member of an organisation called Citizens for a Better Democracy should apparently want to restrict the franchise in the event of a referendum on Independence.

Mr. Perinchief says that Bermudians who can now claim British citizenship should be restricted from voting in such a referendum.

Mr. Perinchief's logic is that people with UK citizenship claims would be biased. This may be true, but ignores the fact that the same people have nothing to lose if Bermuda goes Independent since the passport offer is irrelevant for them.

Unfortunately, Mr. Perinchief's real intention seems to be to stack the vote in an Independence Referendum by removing voters. That should appal anyone in favour of a better democracy and may end up doing more harm than good to the Independence cause.

PUBLIC INQUIRY EDT Public inquiry Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb's announcement in Saturday's newspaper that independent inspectors are examining every cellular phone tower for radiation emissions is to be welcomed.

She has stated that she regrets that protesters did not wait until the results were in before beginning a boycott of Bermuda Digital Communications, the owners of a controversial cell tower in Warwick.

Ms Webb should go one step further and appoint a board of inquiry made of independent experts to examine the claims of both sides in this issue. They should determine if the towers present any kind of real risk to nearby residents and set the Government's policy from there.

Both sides of the argument have now been well aired in an increasingly hysterical and vicious debate, which does not seem to have left the general public any the wiser. It is time for Government to step in and set some standards.