The mother of the 19-year-old female prisoner at the centre of a rape accusation has levelled a scathing attack on local prison administrators.

Speaking from her Hackney, London home, she gave a list of problems surrounding the investigation and the treatment of her daughter while in custody and said Police were powerless in front of a wall of silence.

With her daughter now in London's Holloway Prison, the woman unleashed new allegations against prison officers, including that one had threatened to kill her daughter after she filed the rape complaint and others urged fellow prisoners to shun her.

Three prison officers remain suspended while investigations of impropriety are looked into. They have been interviewed by Police and released on bail.

The 19-year-old was imprisoned in July 1997 for six years for importing $66,575 worth of heroin on February 25, 1997.

The alleged rape occurred in an office off the main dining hall on January 30.

Yesterday, Prison Commissioner Edward Dyer said he knew nothing of the new allegations and said that if they had come to light in time, he would have investigated them fully.

"If there were some threats, then they would have come to light in the investigation,'' he added. "Until the Police come back to me then I have no way of commenting.'' The young woman's mother blasted the Service, saying: "The lot of them, except for one or two, are bad and rotten to the core.

"They are sticking up for one another,'' she added. "There would be too many questions for the top man to answer.'' She claimed that being subjected to rape is common for women in the prison as they approach a parole hearing because they are unlikely to complain.

"But they failed this time,'' she said. "My daughter had a chance because she is British. They are all lying. One of them even threatened to kill her.

"The Commissioner, he knows what's going on in his prisons,'' she continued.

"And if he doesn't, what kind of prison officer is he? Why are men supervising women? "I feared for her life in that prison,'' she said. "And they're sticking up for their own. Will this one be swept under the carpet like the one a few years ago that the FCO (Foreign Commonwealth Office) told me about?'' The mother complained about a code of silence from people within the service and also included fellow prisoners.

She said: "All of the officers, including the women, have closed ranks. The Bermudian inmates even hate her because what she has done has blown it for everyone. Those men were getting sex. They're all dodgy.

"It has now come down to her word against the whole prison service,'' she added. "I really don't like your people for what they have done. My daughter is back in this island where there is civilisation and caring and protection.'' The mother was particularly incensed that despite a directive from the FCO that she be allowed 24-hour phone access to her daughter, she was denied phone contact during her daughter's final 48 hours in custody.

Prisons criticised "That senior officer, he defied a direct order of the FCO to allow round the clock phone access to my daughter,'' she said. "He would say the rules and regulations did not allow him to put through my calls.'' The woman said an incident with a female prison officer stemmed from the woman spreading private medical information to other officers and inmates.

She claimed her daughter was subjected to an expletive-filled tirade months after the woman was given early retirement from the service in the aftermath of the incident.

It has been reported the female officer was cleared of any wrongdoing.

But the mother noted: "That female officer spread personal medical records around the prison. My daughter saw her in a prison parking lot and she started swearing and cursing my daughter. That's the kind of people you have working there.'' Mr. Dyer said: "No-one has left the service as a result of that young lady. I have no knowledge about that.'' Speaking about her daughter's mood in the London prison, the woman said: "I have seen her. She's so happy. It was an emotional reunion. Bermudian mothers, look after your daughters. This could be your daughter.'' Meanwhile, Shadow Health Minister Kim Young has questioned the repatriation, saying it would send the wrong message to other foreign prisoners in Bermuda's jails.

"I am concerned about people's rights but it seems to me that this woman smuggled heroin to Bermuda to our children,'' she said. "She has alleged she was raped and the investigation is still ongoing.'' Deputy Governor Tim Gurney said the repatriation was not a comment on the allegations made by the woman.

He said the transfer was designed to remove the inmate from potential intimidation, given that Bermuda had a small prison base and there was not an opportunity to move her to another facility.

It was also done to ensure potential witnesses to the alleged incident were not in contact with the complainant, he said.