Opposition Leader Kim Swan yesterday called for Sports Minister Glenn Blakeney to publicly apologise to Energy Minister Terry Lister for calling him a liar.

Mr. Swan said the pair's fallout over the Male Athlete of the Year Award controversy suggested Ministers were not sticking to the principle of collective responsibility. He also urged Premier Dr. Ewart Brown to break his silence on the subject to counter fears that the integrity of the Cabinet decision-making process has been undermined.

"It is my view that enough time has passed for the Premier to explain the situation," said Mr. Swan in a statement. "Enough time has certainly passed for the Sports Minister to apologise for calling his Cabinet colleague, the Energy Minister, a liar. In any properly functioning system of governance, you cannot have Government Ministers calling each other liars.

"There is another aspect to the controversy that needs to be cleared up, and that is the decision to overturn the nominating committee's selection for Male Athlete of the Year."

The row erupted two weeks ago when the Annual Sports Awards' nominating committee's selection for the award — Olympic swimmer Roy Allen Burch — was overruled at Cabinet level, with world racquets champion James Stout chosen instead. Some Ministers are said to have objected to Mr. Burch because he spoke out against Government in an article in The Royal Gazette last April.

Following intense criticism of the move, Mr. Blakeney claimed it had been his decision alone. However, Cabinet colleague Mr. Lister told this newspaper in an e-mail that the decision was a "collective Cabinet one".

Mr. Blakeney responded in a live radio interview with Everest DeCosta on FM89, in which he said of Mr. Lister: "He's lying then, he wasn't even in the meeting."

A source has told this newspaper Mr. Lister was in fact in the meeting. Mr. Swan continued in his statement: "Rather than clearing up the confusion and reconciling the two Ministers, the Premier has said nothing.

"After returning to the Island this week, he did not make a statement on the situation during Wednesday's sitting of the House of Assembly. This is not acceptable. We simply cannot let stand one Minister calling another Minister a liar. It is unacceptable behaviour for Cabinet Ministers, as it is for responsible adults.

"It is especially unacceptable given that Ministers are supposed to be bound together by the principle of collective responsibility. "The Premier needs to deal with the situation. He needs to reconcile his two Ministers — a public apology by the sports minister may be required.

"The Premier also needs to explain the decision-making that led to the reversal of the Male Athlete of the Year Award. He cannot try to sweep it under the rug in the hope it will go away. "The Premier needs to step forward and be a leader. The situation requires an explanation and action."