closure of UK base, HMS Malabar, represented "a further erosion of ties with Britain''.

Just back from a holiday abroad, Sir John was responding to comments made by Deputy Governor Mr. John Kelly who, on Christmas Eve, denied the Premier's claim.

Mr. Kelly said the British Government's decision to close the base in Dockyard was not taken out of the blue.

He said Britain gave careful consideration to closing the base and kept Bermuda's best interests in mind.

"Britain does care and defence links will be maintained,'' Mr. Kelly told The Royal Gazette . "The British Government dealt with the Malabar issue in a very caring way.

"The Premier was informed and it may have given the wrong impression when he says (the closure) was something that could have waited.'' But in a hard-hitting statement issued to The Royal Gazette after a meeting at Government House yesterday, Sir John said the intended closure of the base will mark the end of "a very significant chapter in Bermuda's history and, in particular, its close relationship with the Royal Navy''.

But, he added, "the closure is a fact as is the reality that, with the shutdown of the West End base, very little of an official British presence will remain in Bermuda, with the notable exception of a Governor and a Deputy Governor''.

Sir John said Britain had taken stock of its own position and concluded that, "notwithstanding the long and historic relationship between Malabar and Bermuda, the Base would have to be sacrificed on the altar of British Government Defence cuts''.

While the Bermuda Government accepted the right of the British Government to make the cuts in its (the UK's) national interest, Sir pointed out that it was "nothing new''.

"Britain had moved unilaterally to protect its own strategic interest many years ago when Bermuda suddenly found itself no longer a part of the Sterling area and, more recently, when nationality legislation changed the status of Bermudians to British Dependent Territories Citizens,'' he said.

Turning to the issue of when Malabar is to be closed, Sir John said: "The Deputy Governor is, unfortunately, mistaken in his opinion that the Premier ought to have been aware that H.M.S. Malabar could be closed by 1995''.

And stressing that it was important "that the record accurately reflect what actually transpired'', he said it was only after a Washington visit earlier this year that he told the Governor he had learned of the possibility of Malabar being closed. No date was mentioned, Sir John said.

However, he added that he subsequently raised the subject with Britain's Prime Minister John Major in the summer.

At that time, Sir John said, he was told that a technical report on the base had been completed.

But as Bermuda was then engaged in talks with the US Government about the proposed closure of NAS Bermuda, he said, it was felt to be unwise to raise the issue of Malabar until the US Government had made a decision about the US bases in Bermuda.

Sir John said upon his return to Bermuda in the summer he mentioned the possibility of Malabar closing.

But he stressed that "at no time'' had he been told that it would close in 1995.

Premier Swan says ties between UK and Bermuda are eroding In fact, he noted, it was only during the visit of Foreign and Commonwealth Office junior Minister the Hon. Mark Lennox-Boyd that he was told that Malabar would be closing and that an official notification would be coming from the Secretary of State for Defence.

Sir John said the notification arrived and he subsequently informed Parliament.

He also said the news of Malabar's closure disappointed him "greatly'' because of the short time-span given and because little consideration appeared to have been given to finding out to what extent the Island might have been able to help offset the cost of operating Malabar. A cost which he put at about $1.5 million.

"Under the circumstances,'' Sir John said, "it is difficult to comprehend how the closure of H.M.S. Malabar, coming as it does on the heels of the closure of the Canadian and US bases, could be said to be a decision which kept Bermuda's best interests in mind.'' However, he, stressed that the Government intended to press on with its efforts to negotiate a smooth transition as the foreign bases here wind down.

And he said the most careful consideration was being given to all of the important aspects of the transition process.