The Minister in charge of the Berkeley project has given his most detailed public response to allegations surrounding its safety.

Speaking in the Senate yesterday, Works and Engineering Minister David Burch hit back at ?inflammatory? claims about safety and substandard workmanship at the over-budget $120 million senior school, now running three years late.

He said ?unfounded? allegations had been made against Ministry staff and other management working on the project.

Sen. Burch hit out at whistleblower Gabriel Martel, who dubbed the school a ?death trap? and claimed there were dozens of safety concerns. Mr. Martel carried out an inspection for site manager Somers Construction in January, and claimed students risked electrocution because of faulty wiring while poorly constructed walls could come crashing down.

But Sen. Burch, repeating the Government line that the building is not flawed, said in a statement: ?These allegations are so absurd that it is unlikely the Bermudian public will give them any credibility.?

He said Mr. Martel did not draw up a formal report and had just taken photographs to illustrate ?remedial? or ?incomplete? work, a process the Minister said was normal for any sized construction project.

Government has already branded Mr. Martel a ?vindictive? ex-employee and Sen. Burch yesterday told the Senate that the Canada-based whistleblower was never employed as a professional engineer or as an independent auditor at Berkeley, but had been employed by Somers Construction as one of several superintendents on site.

Mr. Martel told last week he produced an extensive report on deficiencies at the school ? including 1,200 photos ? that was handed to Somers shortly before he was dismissed due to an incident over a falling light fitting.

Mr. Martel, who has 40 years? experience in construction, said last week that he stood by his claims. And he felt it was his duty to raise concerns in public so they would be addressed before the school opened to students later this year.

But the Minister, referring to the falling light fitting, yesterday said it was ?regrettable? Mr. Martel was caught ?misrepresenting the facts? about a construction incident on the site. The incident was captured by security cameras that Sen. Burch said did not support Mr. Martel?s version of events and the Canadian was fired by Somers.

?The individual?s primary responsibility was to oversee the interior finishing of the building,? he added. ?At no time was he privy to any financial information about the project.?

The Minister said Somers did ask Mr. Martel to review areas due to be handed over to the school to identify ?unacceptable? or ?incomplete? work. The aim was for Somers to list these findings in reports or ?punch lists? to alert the relevant contractor who installed the substandard work.

Sen. Burch added: ?The preparation of such reports, or punch lists, is a normal part of the procedures at the end of any construction contract, large or small.

?Mr. Martel did not prepare any formal report, but simply took photographs to illustrate remedial or incomplete work that needed to be carried out.?

He said cover-up allegations were ?patently untrue?, and told the Senate that Somers has been addressing the issue of unacceptable work with relevant contractors.

Sen. Burch said that Mr. Martel?s decision to give a ?self-serving? and ?distorted? preview of work at Berkeley had caused unnecessary alarm.

No documents showing completion of checks so far at Berkeley have been produced by Government to counter Mr. Martel?s claims, however, Government has said there will be further tests and inspections before students start classes.

Responding to allegations made in The Mid-Ocean News, Sen. Burch dismissed as ?absurd? claims that Somers had been blackmailed by a civil servant into killing a safety report after being threatened with exclusion from future Government projects.

Addressing claims Somers benefited from the increased costs of work and from delays to the Berkeley project, he said the company?s compensation was for a fixed fee.

He also said that reports stating his Ministry was the general contractor responsible for all events at Berkeley was a ?distortion of the facts?. He added: ?Control of the site and sequencing of work and sequencing of the work is Somers? responsibility as construction managers for the Ministry.

?The Ministry site team works closely with Somers, and provides general oversight of the construction of the project. To allege that out-of-sequence work was purposely carried out for personal gain and/or the advantage of any particular contractor or Ministry employee is contemptible and libellous.?

Sen. Burch said Mr. Martel?s allegations of serious financial improprieties, reported in The Mid-Ocean News, were false.

And he said Berkeley continued to be the ?most closely reviewed and scrutinised project ever built in Bermuda?.

He added: ?It must be clearly understood that the vast majority of contracts, including the electrical contract, were lump sum contracts.

?Contractors would not benefit financially from carrying out defective work or delaying the project. All contractors, including the electrical contractor, are held accountable for work under their respective contracts and any deficient work must be corrected at no additional cost to Government.?

Describing the payment system in detail, he said that at the start of Somers? involvement with the project it was agreed that all contractor billings would be submitted on a monthly basis to Somers, who would review and certify them. These were then compiled into one application for payment by Somers and submitted to the Ministry for review. The Senate heard this is then reviewed by the Ministry?s quantity surveyor before being approved and processed for payment.

Sen. Burch said all contractors ? except the electrical contractor ? agreed to be paid through Somers. The electrical contractor insisted that payment be made directly by Government, however, payment applications were still submitted to Somers for review.

?The electrical contractor never invoices the Ministry directly,? Sen. Burch added. ?All accounts for the project are open to scrutiny by the relevant authorities.?

He also called on The Mid-Ocean News to name a top civil servant who the paper claimed was aware of, and approved, extortion practices in relation to Berkeley.