Government refused to retract statements yesterday claiming this newspaper has accused two ministers of receiving payments from contractors involved in the Police/court building project.

The allegations were made at yesterday's press conference on the LLC cheque scandal and in different versions of Premier Ewart Brown's and Minister Derrick Burgess' statements sent out to media.

One statement by Mr. Burgess read: "These allegations included a particular statement to the effect that: 'two high profile Cabinet Ministers (had) received payments from Landmark Lisgar Construction Ltd., (the contractors on the site) as consultants on the project, despite a clear conflict of interest'."

The editor of The Royal Gazette, Bill Zuill, said last night: "Mr. Burgess is wrong in this statement. We have never repeated and referred to these allegations, in particular the allegations about cheques."

And in another statement, e-mailed to local media and The Associated Press, the Premier also implied "one or more civil servants" may have been responsible for falsifying his name and that of Mr. Burgess on copies of two LLC cheques made out to Scorpio Construction Ltd. and Chester Management.

Part of that statement, which was not read out at yesterday morning's press conference and appears to have been from an early draft of the Premier's statement, said: "It is entirely reasonable to conclude that these false documents have also led to the recent spate of articles in both the Mid Ocean News and The Royal Gazette.

"We have asked these newspapers to produce the evidence they claim to have in support of the allegation that two Cabinet Ministers have received payments from Landmark. They have not done so.

"They are content to allow their scandalous allegations to do all the damage that would inevitably result from their publication and their repetition, even in the absence of clear and irrefutable proof. This kind of mucky, cowardly and destructive journalism has no place in modern democratic society, particularly in a community of this size and in the face of the myriad of problems which we must resolve together as a community.

"We cannot prejudge. But I have to say that it is at least possible that these fabrications emanate from within the Ministry itself and that one or more civil servants may be found to bear some complicity in their manufacture.

"Let the word go forth that no stone will be left unturned in this Government's efforts to uncover the source and purpose of these foul acts."

This newspaper's editor Mr. Zuill said: "These statements are incorrect. We were never asked to produce evidence to support these allegations. There would be no reason for us to be asked because we never published them anyway.

@$:"The statement attributed to the Premier appears to be an early draft of the statement which he gave at yesterday's press conference that was sent out in error. We have informed Government officials of the errors but it is my understanding they have chosen not to withdraw them."

Mr. Zuill said: "We have never made these allegations. I consider these statements to be unfair and libellous, and think the Government should do the right thing and withdraw them."