Insulting attacks “will not end well” for detractors of the People’s Campaign, warned union leader Jason Hayward, who said a false narrative had unfairly blamed protesters for dividing the country and inciting a “clash”.

The president of the Bermuda Public Services Union, who decried the alleged name-calling and disrespect shown to the movement, added: “For a certain segment of our population, that scenario does not end well.

“We can easily bring this battle to the doorsteps of many who have loud mouths and are extremely disrespectful.”

Campaign leaders accused Michael Dunkley, the Premier, yesterday of “calling for a silent majority to come out and speak”, in the words of Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert.

Mr Hayward told hundreds of supporters assembled for a second day in St Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church that he wondered if the Premier “wants to see a civil war”.

Last night, Mr Dunkley described the comments as “absurd”. He added: “My words are always appropriate, measured and respectful, unlike some of the other ones I have heard over the past several days.

“I do believe there is a silent majority, and I think they are now speaking up. It’s unfortunate that we are still in this division. This is an issue between the Church and the Government. Once again, it goes to show that the People’s Campaign will do anything to try to stop Bermuda from going forward.”

Rhetoric surrounding the latest round of protests grew heated yesterday as an online petition called for a boycott of the BIU.

Saying there was an effort under way to divide the union, Mr Furbert told the crowd they had the power to retaliate by boycotting businesses linked to members of the One Bermuda Alliance.

The Reverend Nicholas Tweed, the pastor of St Paul AME Church, whose failure to have his work permit renewed has sparked the latest protests, told supporters that the Government’s narrative was that “the people supporting these issues are a small, disgruntled minority”, and that the media would report the movement as losing support.

“When people start calling for a boycott of the union, the issue is not boycotting the union gas; the issue is to silence and suppress a voice that defends and champions the cause of our people,” he said.

Addressing the Government, Mr Tweed said it was against freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and freedom of the press.

He added: “And where have been those great institutions, the Human Rights Commission? The Centre for Justice? Whoops. You know why? Those organisations and entities represent them [the Government].

“That’s why the union and the Church represent us.”

Mr Tweed decried longstanding policies that had led to “a permanent underclass — our children, our grandchildren”, many of whom he believes had emigrated to Britain because of unemployment and economic hardship.

“This government has driven them away,” he said. “But, yet, corporate CEOs, if you look at the policy, they can have all kinds of exemptions and negotiate all they want. And when the policy was being developed, they invited who they wanted to the table.”

Closing his address, Mr Tweed said: “Every slave does not want to be free — so we now have to decide who wants to be free.”