Prisons Commissioner Eddie Lamb received support from both sides of the political divide and a business leader yesterday for his broadside against declining moral standards and non-existent parenting.

Social Rehabilitation Minister Dale Butler told The Royal Gazette that comments made by Lt. Col. Lamb in an e-mail he wrote in his capacity as a governor of the Berkeley Institute would strike a chord with many people.

And Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Dunkley said: "I support Mr. Lamb's comments 100 percent.

"Chamber of Commerce president Philip Barnett, meanwhile, contacted this newspaper to say: "He has absolutely hit the nail on the head."

Lt. Col. Lamb, former Bermuda Regiment commanding officer, sent the message on Friday in response to a complaint from a member of the public, whose identity is not known, who witnessed an alleged attack by a female Berkeley student on another girl.

The complainant suggested that discipline was non-existent at the secondary school, prompting an 800-word reply from the Commissioner in which he berated society's "mindless and ill-disciplined adults", swearing females and fathers who desert their children. He wrote: "It's as if we have lost all sense of decency!"

PLP MPMr. Butler said: "I think a lot of people feel what he had to say and in addition to making us aware of what the problem is.

"I think we have to continue to look at finding some short and long-term solutions."The Minister said a lot of children on the Island were getting a good upbringing but there were too many examples of parental time and attention being substituted with material goods.

"At the end of the day, when the machine runs out of batteries, we have a group of very disgruntled, angry young people who feel cheated," he said. "This raises the issue of whether or not parents, and we as a society, are bringing them up correctly."

He said a small group of young people behaved "like wild animals" and their behaviour rubbed off on others. "I think what he [Lt. Col. Lamb] is really saying is that parents have to accept greater responsibility for the children that they bring into the world. There are two roads to go down and parents themselves have to decide which road they will follow."

Given his way, said the Minister, he would take the "radical" measure of banning all school trips for five years. "We are sending the wrong message, that life consists of nothing but cruises and tours," he said.

He added that his Ministry was constantly looking for ways to help Bermuda's young people, particularly boys, such as with programmes like the Mirrors mentoring scheme.

Senator Dunkley said of Lt. Col. Lamb's remarks: "The general consensus of what he was trying to get at is that we need to be responsible and set an example. I support it 100 percent.

"As individuals, when we decide to have children, parenting is a big responsibility. Too many of us make these mammoth decisions and don't deal with the responsibilities we have. We can't blame anybody but ourselves as a community."

The UBP politician added that he was glad the Prisons Commissioner had taken the time to write the e-mail.

"I think we all need to take a look in the mirror and say are we doing our part to make sure we are making Bermuda a better place."

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Lamb's fellow Berkeley governor Gary Phillips said yesterday that the school continued to encourage the sender of the original e-mail complaint, a Berkeley graduate from 1965, to step forward and identify themselves and others as role models.

"All the school communities across the entire island would benefit tremendously from such an initiative,"he said.

l Are you the person who complained to the Berkeley Institute last week? Call reporter Sam Strangeways on 278-0155 or email sstrangewaysroyalgazette.bm