call for an apology in the Senate yesterday.

The claim came yesterday as Government Senator E.T. (Bob) Richards moved to answer a parliamentary question posed by PLP Senator Terry Lister.

The question asked Sen. Richards -- who speaks for Finance in the Upper House -- to outline the terms of the consultancy that Bermuda Land Development Company Limited ex-executive Jeffrey Simon enjoyed with the BLDC.

It also asked for an indication of how long the consultancy would run and how much Mr. Simon was being paid for his work.

Before answering, Sen. Richards pointed out that Sen. Lister was a partner at the chartered accounting firm Deloitte and Touche which was working with the project at Morgan's Point.

He said this suggested a conflict of interest of which Sen. Lister should have made the Senate aware.

Sen. Lister interjected and said the company was part of the audit team at Morgan's Point but this had not crossed his mind as something that would be in conflict with the questions he was posing.

He added that this type of "cheap shot'' at the start of the answer was not necessary.

But at the close of the morning's session, Sen. Richards said he brought the point up because there was a suggestion of a conflict of interest.

And he said Sen. Lister should have declared this so as not to risk impugning his character.

When asked if he planned to apologise to Sen. Lister, Sen. Richards replied: "I have said all I am going to say.'' In answering the question, Sen. Richards noted the BLDC should not be regarded as the servant or agent of the Crown.

He added that it operated as a separate legal entity at arm's length from Government.

However, he said the BLDC had agreed to provide clarification of Mr. Simon's association with it.

Mr. Simon was a temporary consultant whose primary responsibility was to complete the formal development agreement with the developer of the Morgan's Point site.

These services were anticipated to be required on an as-needed basis up to the signing of the agreement this summer and Mr. Simon was paid a per diem rate of $860 on those days he worked.

So far, added Sen. Richards, Mr. Simon had worked 58 days since February 1.