The daughter of the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Sports has been named a board member of the National Sports Centre.

Government yesterday denied the appointment posed a conflict of interest.

Bermudian Katura Horton-Perinchief the first black female diver to compete in the Olympics is the daughter of Ellen-Kate Horton.

"Katura Horton-Perinchief is indeed the daughter of PS Ellen-Kate Horton. There is absolutely no conflict of interest," said a spokesman.

"Katura is an Olympic athlete who has both a bachelor's and a master's degree. She also serves on the BOA (Bermuda Olympic Association). The Minister (of Environment and Sports) is convinced that she is fully capable of handling the task at hand."

The NSC is a quango. Part of its responsibility is to oversee the creation of Bermuda's Olympic-size swimming pool and aquatic complex for the 2013 Island Games.

The 2010 board was announced in the Official Gazette. Sean Tucker will serve as chairman and Larry Mussenden as deputy chairman. Additional members are Jill Dill, Bryan Dowling, Stanley Lee, Marshall Minors and Ms Horton-Perinchief.

Board chairman Mr. Tucker said yesterday: "I don't see it as a conflict of interest because we are a quango and appointments are made at the discretion of the Minister.

"The PS is not involved specifically with us. Katura is young, bright and able. And, particularly as we enter the development of the aquatics complex, her experience as a diver shall be of great use to us."

Ms Horton-Perinchief has been a diver since the age of five.

She represented Bermuda in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, placing 30th out of 34.

Injuries have since forced her retirement from springboard diving. She completed a master's degree in public health at George Washington University, Washington DC.

She joined the staff at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) at the end of 2008. She is responsible for collecting data on cancerous tumours and getting the hospital's tumour registry up to date.

Ms Horton-Perinchief and Ms Horton were unavailable for comment yesterday.

In August 2007 Ms Horton was appointed PS to the Ministry of Education while her brother Randolph Horton was Minister. The move drew criticism from members of the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT), with some teachers expressing feelings of mistrust.

Ms Horton however, defended her appointment, stressing there was no conflict of interest and that she would "fulfil this role to the best of my abilities".