The National Security Minister made an apparent climb down over his House of Assembly attack on Chief Justice Ian Kawaley.

Wayne Caines, who accused the island’s top judge of “cowardice” over his criticism over a court staffing crisis on Friday, said last night that he had the highest personal and professional regard for Mr Justice Kawaley.

Mr Caines said: “I felt compelled to publicly note that comments spoken during Friday’s Motion to Adjourn were not a personal attack on the The Hon. Dr. Ian Kawaley Chief Justice of Bermuda.

“As a matter of fact, I hold the Chief Justice in very high regard, both personally and professionally.”

The statement came after Mr Caines told MPs in Parliament: “Like a thief that comes in the night, whilst he is on vacation, the Acting Registrar sends out a missive in a press release.

“That, with the greatest of respect, is not how a leader, a Chief Justice, conducts business.”

He added that the PLP administration would not tolerate Mr Justice Kawaley trying to blame the judicial system’s “disarray” on the Government.

But Mr Caines said in a statement yesterday evening that his comments in Parliament focused on who was responsible for court administration and staffing levels and the “critical importance of succession planning”.

He added: “I spoke directly to the fact that the administration of the courts was the responsibility of the Chief Justice.

“The administration of the Magistrate’s Court, as well as the administration of the Supreme Court and Registrar’s offices are both included within his sphere of responsibilities.

“Any problem in filling posts cannot be laid at the feet of the Government or of the Attorney-General.

“As the most senior member responsible for the administration of the courts, The Chief Justice is accountable for assuring that the vacancies are filled.

“It is my belief that rather than allowing the Acting Registrar to issue a public statement without discussion with the Attorney General, the Chief Justice would have been better served to engage a more appropriate solution-oriented mechanism to deal with the challenge.”

Mr Caines said he also pointed out that the Magistrates’ Court had no “clear plan of succession and no opportunities for Bermudians to rise to leadership posts”.

“There are a number of significant positions held by persons who have passed retirement age.

“My exact same concerns were highlighted in the Supreme Court where there is no plan of succession or opportunities for Bermudians to serve in the Supreme Court.”

Mr Caines’ statement was released by Brand Lion, a private PR firm, rather than the Department of Communications, which is responsible for ministerial releases.

Zina Edwards, the owner of Brand Lion, confirmed last night she was working for the Ministry of National Security, but not for the Department of Communications, and phoned from a Government phone line.

Ms Edwards added she had “jumped the gun” with the release and that the statement would be released through the Department of Communications later.

The release was resent by the department shortly afterwards.

A government spokeswoman later explained that “Brand Lion is contracted by the Bermuda Government to assist with the ongoing Fintech Initiative”.

“In error, the company issued a National Security release earlier this evening.

“This was not in keeping with our media release protocols, in which Government/Ministry related releases are issued by the Department of Communication.”