Independence programming pulled off the air on Tuesday night, but was unable to reach any officials at the Bermuda Broadcasting Company.

"It was very frustrating,'' Mrs. Louise Jackson said yesterday.

Mrs. Jackson said she was at home last night when complaints about televising of pro-Independence speeches on ZBM TV 9 began pouring in soon after 8 p.m.

The volume of complaints shot up when the Independence programming continued beyond the 30-minute time limit set by the Broadcasting Commission, she said.

At that point, Mrs. Jackson said she wanted the programming -- which lasted until 9 p.m. and featured speeches from the recent Coalition for the Independence of Bermuda forum at Number One Shed -- taken off the air immediately.

"I couldn't reach anybody,'' she said. An official would have gone around to the station, but "I understand the doors were locked''.

Among other complaints was that the programming was aired on polling day, she said. Whether that complaint was valid was not immediately clear, she said.

The Independence referendum, which was set for Tuesday, was instead held yesterday after Hurricane Felix resulted in a 24-hour delay.

"It's under investigation,'' Mrs. Jackson said. And she noted ZBM had been warned earlier in the run-up to the referendum when another Independence programme exceeded 30 minutes.

The Attorney General's Chambers was involved, and the Broadcasting Commissioners were to meet today, she said.

She expected Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons would also be involved.

She was not sure what sanctions the broadcaster might face, should a conviction result. In the past, "we've never taken it any further than a reprimand''.

Mr. Rick Richardson, chief executive officer of the BBC, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

But another station official, who did not wish to be identified, said the hour-long Independence segment was in fact two 30-minute programmes. One was sponsored by the Coalition for Independence for Bermuda, and the other by the Friends of Independence for Bermuda, she said.

Both programmes were scheduled to air on Monday, but ZBM was knocked out that day by the hurricane, she said.

The spokesman said she was unaware of any complaints about the programming.