The issuing of court summonses to a number of protesters from the December 2 demonstrations outside the House of Assembly are “provocative and unwise”, the Progressive Labour Party said this evening.

Michael Scott, the Shadow Attorney-General, called the use of the criminal justice system “a political tool”.

Mr Scott addressed the media in the wake of papers being served on several Bermuda Industrial Union members this morning.

The Opposition statement said the actions, shortly before the issue of the peer review into the police response to the protests today, raised “considerable questions”.

It also criticised the decision to allow an embargoed copy of the review to be seen by the media ahead of the document being provided to David Burt, the Leader of the Opposition.

The report’s lack of mention of any communication on December 2 between police and members of the Government was also queried.

Walter Roban, the Shadow Minister of National Security, said the PLP considered the decision to prosecute “an obviously provocative step”, going “beyond prosecution into persecution”.

• To read the full Opposition statement, click on the PDF under “Related Media”.