Plans for a Government television channel are the ?first step towards dictatorship?, a senior statesman said yesterday.

Quinton Edness, a former United Bermuda Party Minister and ex-managing director of the Bermuda Broadcasting Corporation, said a state-controlled station ? set up at taxpayers? expense ? would be dangerous for the Island.

Mr. Edness called on Premier Alex Scott to re-think plans for the controversial new channel, outlined in Friday?s Throne Speech. ?This is a dangerous thing to do,? he told ?It?s the first step towards totalitarianism or dictatorship.?

He also warned about high costs of setting up a station from scratch.

The rare public criticism of Government from the former BBC managing director comes amid growing alarm at the PLP media plans.

Premier Alex Scott, unveiling the television blueprint, said it was an attempt to improve communication with the community.

?We work hard but folks hardly know all the work we do. It is not going to be a propaganda machine.?

He added: ?It is just going to say what is being done. It is to inform Bermudians to give them insight into the details that may not make the evening news, may not be worthy of a headline but it is worthy of note by the public we serve.?

The Premier said it would also provide a great opportunity for young people to get involved in TV journalism.

But Mr. Edness said this justification was an ?absolute sham?.

Frustrated at media criticism, Government had drawn up the plans, he added, because it had failed to properly communicate with voters using traditional media.

He stressed not all Ministers had failed and pointed to the effective use of the media by Deputy Premier Ewart Brown.

He said the rest of the Government had faced problems. This was mainly because they had not ?come clean? with the media, he added, pointing to the handling of finances on the Berkeley school project as one example.

Mr. Edness continued: ?Government has brought this criticism on its own head because it has not been transparent and honest.?

He said the PLP still had time to be ?forthright? with voters, and if it wanted to put out its message without interference it could place an advert in the newspaper or book time on TV.

Mr. Edness also said the cost of the new channel would be ?very expensive?, although he could not put a price on how much it would cost the plans to become reality.

?Running a television station is a very expensive project,? he added. ?There has not been one that?s made a profit in Bermuda since 1981.

?It?s the most expensive form of media in Bermuda. It costs money to capture an audience.?

The media played a vital role in questioning leaders on behalf of the country, he said. And the PLP was squandering a great opportunity to be a forward-thinking Government.

A PLP spokesman, however, hit back at the criticism. He said that as a former Government Minister Mr. Edness knew it was extremely difficult to get a factual message out to the public in the presence of a ?hostile media?.

?To act as if their is not a prevailing bias, in some of our media, is to bury ones head in the sand.?

?It is wise and prudent, for any Government, to provide factual information by way of audio and video imaging and the PLP see this as an extension of information services already provided.?

The spokesman added that live images of Government Press conferences and possible live images from the House of Assembly could do nothing but encourage accountability, increase knowledge of the average viewer and present information in a new and innovative way.

But criticism flooded in yesterday from the Opposition.

United Bermuda Party Deputy Leader Michael Dunkley branded the proposals ?absolutely ridiculous?.

He added: ?My history tells me that government stations only exist in Communist countries.?

Mr. Dunkley also said there was ?plenty of opportunity? for Bermudians to get involved in the media. ?There are always job adverts,? he said. ?This seems like a pretty weak excuse from the Premier.?

And Trevor Moniz, Shadow Minister of Telecommunications and E-commerce, said: ?The idea of having official Government control is anti-democratic. If they can?t get their message out through the media then they are doing something wrong.

?This idea is really an admission of quite serious failure.?