Independent senators should be fired for toeing the Opposition line, furious Government Senate leader Milton Scott said yesterday.

And he called on the Governor to replace the three non-party Upper House Members before the start of the new session in October.

But Opposition Sen. Kim Swan branded Sen. Scott's move as "arrogant'' and anti-democratic -- as well as "cowardly''.

Sen. Scott said: "If they have an agenda, they should get the hell out of the Chamber and go somewhere else.

"They shouldn't be playing footsie with each other and frustrating the people's business.'' Sen. Scott's blast came after he accused the Independents of pursuing their own agenda by voting in a bloc against Government legislation.

The three Independents -- Senate President Alf Oughton, Vice-President Walwyn Hughes and Jeanette Cannonier -- voted with the three Opposition Members to block a bid to allow middle managers to join the same union as the rank-and-file last week.

They also combined and amended legislation aimed at raising the level where rent control kicks in by axing a bid to remove exemptions from rent control for houses built after mid-1983.

And only a mistake by Sen. Cannonier -- who accidentally voted with Government -- prevented the controversial Act to allow funeral limousines in Bermuda to pass.

Sen. Scott told Senate yesterday: "I was appointed by the Premier to do the Government's business. I won't tolerate anyone who frustrates that.'' And he added: "When I return in October, I hope some of the faces will have changed.'' Sen. Scott added that he accepted only the Governor had the power to appoint Independents and that he would not attempt to interfere with that.

But he said: "The Constitution says `Independent Senators' -- when you have all three of them voting against something, it does raise certain concerns in my mind.'' Sen. Scott added that he would be voicing his worries to the Governor -- and urged any members of the public who were bothered to contact Government House as well.

He said: "I uphold the integrity of the Constitution -- whether I agree with all of its tenets or not.'' But he insisted the Governor had "an obligation'' to ensure Independent senators were truly Independent.

Yesterday, Deputy Governor Tim Gurney steered well clear of the row and declined to comment.

But he said: "Any time anyone wants to come and talk to me, my door is always open.

"And we will listen seriously to anything which is raised with us.'' Independent senators lined up to deny they were too close to the Opposition United Bermuda Party.

Sen. Oughton pointed out he had voted in the past with the Government -- and against his fellow Independents.

He said: "We're not just there to rubber-stamp. And I'm quite happy with my track record on how I've voted.'' "My conscience is clear and I vote as an Independent. When you vote with Government, nobody says you've voted the wrong way.'' And Sen. Oughton added: "Sen. Scott has every right to go to the Governor and express his concerns. But when I was appointed, I was told by the then-Governor that my role was to be independent and in the middle.'' Sen. Hughes said: "We do not operate as a group. We don't have a caucus and I don't know how the others are likely to vote until they begin to speak. I just go there and do the best to vote for what we think is best for the country.

"We're certainly not there to thwart Government programmes -- but we're not there to rubber-stamp them, either.'' He added that out of 30-plus items of legislation seen by Senate in the current term only one was rejected and two returned to the House of Assembly with amendments.

Sen. Hughes said: "We're supposed to look at each piece of legislation on its merits -- that's what I try to do and there's nothing to indicate that that is not the case.'' Opposition Senate leader Maxwell Burgess left Senate early to catch a plane overseas and could not be contacted for comment.

But UBP Sen. Kim Swan accused Sen. Scott of "questioning the integrity'' of Senate colleagues.

He said: "I've seen some touches of arrogance from Government in these early days.

"My leader has pointed this out on a few occasions and there was good reason for the Independents to vote differently from what Government wanted them to do.'' Sen. Swan added last week's meeting, where Independents voted with the Opposition, had 17 items on the order paper and 16 were dealt with.

He said: "They wouldn't be independent if they agreed with everything the Government has done -- and, by the law of averages, last week they were bound to disagree with something.'' Sen. Swan also said: "It's not my position to call into question senators' integrity -- and I think the backhanded fashion in which Sen. Scott did it was cowardly. It was very inappropriate.''