A manager in a major Island business told workers Home Affairs and Public Safety Minister Paula Cox should be shot over tougher immigration policies, she claimed in the House of Assembly at the weekend.

Ms Cox said "reliable sources'' had told her a expatriate manager in a "significant institution'' made the shock statement to a group of Bermudian workers.

A half dozen shocked MPs sat in silence as Ms Cox revealed the allegations around 4 a.m. Saturday morning.

Ms Cox said she hoped that business people saw her as an "honest broker'' and that immigration policy was not set in stone, Ms Cox said she was "disturbed'' by the alleged incident.

She added the manager told the staff she did not know what Government's intentions were with regard to immigration and that the "best thing that could happen is for someone to shoot her''.

"I have reliable sources,'' Ms. Cox added. "I have a concern as the only thing that I have is a sense of integrity.

"I can only hope that people see they are dealing with an honest broker,'' she continued.

Ms Cox was speaking in the early hours Saturday morning during the general economic debate about the Budget.

She said that while her party sees the "challenges of immigration policy'' as an opportunity to redraw the map of how immigration issues are solved.

Ms Cox said she had tried to foster a sense of partnership with the business community.

And she added: "There are no new policies on the table and it isn't even in a draft form.'' Ms Cox was amazed over "someone having the audacity'' to say such things, because of "disappointment'' at their perception of her government's policies.

"Clearly people's emotions get riled,'' Ms Cox added, but her "best efforts'' at discussion seemed to have been unsucessful.

See Pages 5,6 and 7 for coverage of Budget debate Paula Cox