Bermuda and the other Overseas Territories should embrace freedom of information by introducing new laws, British MPs have said.

A UK report released yesterday into the governance of the overseas territories saw a cross-party group of MPs "strongly encourage" such a move.

The politicians considered a submission from Bill Zuill, Editor of The Royal Gazette, when assessing the issue.

The newspaper has been running the campaign A Right to Know - Giving People Power campaign to call for FOI legislation.

Mr. Zuill said: "While it may be logical to assume that access to information in small jurisdictions like Bermuda would be easier than it is in larger countries, the opposite is often true as those in positions of power will often guard information quite jealously. There are times when there are privacy issues at stake, but often in a small community this is used as a reason for not making information public, when in fact no harm would be done, or when the public interest outweighs rights to privacy."

He acknowledged that the Government has said it is working on a Public Access to Information Act, but called for this legislation to be given "a higher priority".

The British inquiry also heard from Alan Gamble, who claimed that there is a "catalogue of secret reports and enquiries which remain hidden" in Bermuda.