Tourism Development and Transport Minister last night claimed a leak that a consultant had been hired for his ministry occurred before the formal process had been completed.Shawn Crockwell said the hiring of Corey Butterfield as Policy Analyst and Special Advisor had told Cabinet in meeting on January 3 and the consultancy was approved by his One Bermuda Alliance Premier Craig Cannonier and the Cabinet Secretary, Donald Scott.Mr Butterfield, who Mr Crockwell said is “well qualified” for the consultancy and that he has his full confidence, is a former member of the Progressive Labour Party. He has been hired for one year and will be paid $120,000.Minister Crockwell said: “I accept that certain procedures had not been completed before the engagement was made public. However, the press received a tip concerning Mr. Butterfield and I confirmed the engagement.”Mr Crockwell’s OBA had promised to cut down on the use of Government consultants in the lead up to the general election.On January 10, in response to the leak, the PLP’s Shadow Finance Minister David Burt said “as a Government that campaigned on ‘reducing government spending’, the OBA is off to a terrible start”, and that Mr Crockwell’s refusal to reveal the cost of his consultant and details of the work being done was a “concerning development”.Mr Butterfield has been tasked with researching Tourism Authorities in other jurisdictions and their enabling legislation and advising in the establishment of a Tourism Authority.He will also work to implement the recently released Tourism Plan and will explore gaming in Bermuda.Mr Butterfield will also work with stakeholders to develop new tourism products for Bermuda and proposing improvements and solutions for local transportation issues.Minister Crockwell said: “This is a very important and large Ministry that combines tourism and transport and, recognising the importance of tourism, we have been working non-stop to create new products and jobs.“Indeed, we have already had several stakeholders approach us with a view to creating new tourism products in order to revitalise the industry and bring more visitors and jobs to our shores.“We are dedicated to carrying out our election promise of creating a Tourism Authority and have set an aggressive timeline of six months to do so.”