Members of the Bermuda Government and the AME Church have accused one another of using bullying tactics, as the row over the Reverend Nicholas Tweed’s rejected work permit renewal intensified yesterday.

A government source told The Royal Gazette that a civil servant and AME Church member had tried to influence the application process by “repeatedly bullying” staff members in the Department of Immigration.

However, an AME Church spokesperson dismissed the accusation as “completely and utterly false”.

Meanwhile, MP Derrick Burgess, speaking as an AME church member and former immigration minister, suggested that the Government’s obtuse stance was a political move designed to deter others from challenging its authority.

Mr Tweed, pastor at the St Paul AME Church, is a leader of the activist group the People’s Campaign. He was an instrumental figure in the immigration reform protests in March that brought Bermuda to a standstill for five days.

On Monday, it was revealed that Mr Tweed’s attempt to renew his work permit had failed, prompting the AME Church to accuse the Government of treating it with “total disrespect and disregard”.

Yesterday, a leaked Civil Service e-mail claimed that the Department of Immigration had provided the AME Church with a list of errors and inconsistencies in Mr Tweed’s application, which needed to be amended by a September 20 deadline.

The e-mail alleged that a government worker and church member used his @gov.bm e-mail account to tell the ministry to “shove it” and twice refused to adhere to its requests, the second time “well past deadline”.

As a result, the immigration board and Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, the Minister of Home Affairs, declined the application based on its deficiencies, including a failure to advertise the post, the e-mail concluded.

A St Paul AME Church spokesman flatly rejected the claims that intimidatory language was used in communications with the Government. “The handling of this application was restricted to two officers within the Department of Immigration,” the spokesman said. “Both have been exceptionally helpful. “The suggestion of bullying tactics or the alleged words ‘shove it’ in connection with this matter are completely and utterly false.

“Neither of the officers concerned have ever complained of anything regarding the handling of this matter, and their assistance has been professional and helpful throughout.”

Mr Burgess argued that the improperly filled-out application form had been corrected and returned in good time.

He accused the Government of hiding behind this excuse as a “political smokescreen”, while it held up Mr Tweed as a symbolic example to other perceived troublemakers not to “cross the line”.

He said: “It’s a warning to the rest of the people of what happens if you get involved in the social ills and injustices of this country.”

Mr Burgess said that Mr Tweed was following Bermuda’s long tradition of religious figures who have been persecuted for engaging in humanitarian activities that threatened the establishment, beginning with the Reverend Charles Monk in the early 20th century.

He also suggested that Ms Gordon-Pamplin, a former AME Church member, should have recused herself from the matter, given that she had previously spoken out against Mr Tweed in Parliament.

In the meantime, he offered his “unconditional support” for Mr Tweed and said that he expected the issue to be resolved between Bishop Gregory GM Ingram, of the First Episcopal District, and Michael Dunkley, the Premier.

Human rights advocate Shari-Lynn Pringle said that while she supported Mr Tweed for his thoughtful stance towards the LGBTQ community, he should be subject to the same application rules as everyone else. She also warned that those offering their vehement support for Mr Tweed “need to be very aware of the fight they’re joining”.

She said: “You might run on to the battlefield for Reverend Tweed, but then you don’t do it for other people applying for work permits or status.

“This could come back to slap you in the face.” While Ms Gordon-Pamplin reiterated yesterday that she could not comment on individual cases, she stated that the Department of Immigration remained committed “to a policy of fairness, not favouritism, that ensures the review, evaluation and disposition of each application for a work permit is done in accordance with and in adherence to the highest standards of Bermuda’s laws”.

She added that “comprehensive changes” to policy were made in 2014, and that the department operated under this new policy.

“This policy requires for a position for a work permit to be advertised, or if a waiver from advertising is sought, the waiver fee is remitted and an application made for the dispensation.”

Ms Gordon-Pamplin added that it is a policy that guarantees Bermudians are “always given priority with respect to any opportunity to fill a position for which they are eminently qualified”.

Meanwhile, the Progressive Labour Party declared its support for Mr Tweed, stating that it shares the sentiments of the leadership of St Paul AME Church that the development represents a “total disrespect and disregard for the doctrine and discipline of the AME Church and the rejection of the longstanding custom and practice surrounding appointments of pastors in the AME Church in Bermuda”.

Mr Tweed and Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert, a fellow leader in the People’s Campaign, remained unavailable for comment yesterday.