The UK will decide by the end of July whether Bermuda will still be allowed to negotiate with other countries on behalf of Britain, following the recent Uighur controversy.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband set the date for completion of a review on Bermuda's General Entrustment Agreement with the UK in written answers to Parliamentary Questions from Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague in the House of Commons on Monday.

The UK decided to review the 1968 agreement after Premier Ewart Brown failed to notify UK authorities before allowing four Uighurs detained at Guantánamo Bay to resettle here two weeks ago.

"We are not reviewing the Bermuda Constitution, but in light of this case we are reviewing the operation of the General Entrustment which is the agreement that delegates to the Government of Bermuda the authority to conduct external negotiations in specified areas," Mr. Miliband said. "We expect to complete this by the end of July 2009."

Mr. Miliband also disclosed in his written answers that Bermuda started resettlement negotiations with the US administration "on or about 20 May", more than 20 days before the detainees arrived on the Island from Cuba.

"The Foreign and Commonwealth Office received notification from the Governor of Bermuda on 11 June, 2009 that the Government of Bermuda had been in discussion with the US on the transfer of four former detainees from Guantánamo Bay," Mr. Miliband said of the notification process.

"The Government of Bermuda acted outside their competence."

New FCO Minister for Overseas Territories Chris Bryant, who took over from Gillian Merron earlier this month, also answered a question tabled by Conservative backbencher Greg Knight on what steps the UK plans to take following the resettlement.

"Discussions are ongoing between the Governor, the Government of Bermuda and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the transfer of four former detainees from Guantánamo Bay to Bermuda," Mr. Bryant said.

"We are considering next steps with all interested parties."

Since the start of the controversy, Dr. Brown has maintained that the Uighur issue was an internal immigration matter, therefore the province of the Bermuda Government rather than the UK.

In the House of Assembly on Friday before the failed no confidence motion, several MPs from both political parties demanded an apology from Dr. Brown for allowing the detainees to resettle without consultation with his Cabinet, the Governor or the UK. Dr. Brown told the House that he was "sincerely regretful" for the fallout of the Uighur decision, adding that he "genuinely believed" the four men could come to Bermuda without UK approval.