United Bermuda Party leader Kim Swan yesterday scotched party quitter Darius Tucker's claim he was hoping to seize power by kicking out Government with a no-confidence vote.

"Darius does not know what he is talking about," Mr. Swan said of the Hamilton South MP's comments on ZBM news.

Mr. Tucker had claimed that, if his former party had succeeded in passing a motion of no confidence in Premier Ewart Brown's Government, Mr. Swan was planning to knock on Governor Sir Richard Gozney's door and tell him: "I have the power."

Mr. Swan yesterday remained adamant the plan was simply to remove Dr. Brown for his 'one-man' style of rule — and the Government was only named in the motion because no-confidence votes cannot be made against individuals.

He told The Royal Gazette: "The United Bermuda Party was explicit in saying the motion was drafted to effect a change in leadership of the Government: to get rid of Dr. Brown as Premier.

"For him to call that public commitment into question is simply not true and reflects very poorly on him."

Mr. Tucker resigned from the UBP after being suspended from the Shadow Cabinet for breaking a three line whip and failing to vote on Saturday morning.

He had spoken out against the motion, declaring the Premier a go-getter for bringing four Guantánamo Bay detainees to Bermuda without permission from the UK or consultation with Cabinet — a move which infuriated many Progressive Labour Party front and backbenchers.

Yesterday, Mr. Tucker issued a statement saying he would continue to sit as an Independent, despite the UBP calling for him to "do the honourable thing and resign", thus forcing a by-election.

He explained his decision to go to the coffee room during the vote was for conscientious reasons and said he quit out of frustration at the Opposition's failure to reform.

"My decision to be absent at the time of voting on the no-confidence motion was a conscientious one," said his statement.

"I was firmly of the opinion that the motion was one that was poorly conceived and had no chance of being successful.

"In putting the motion forward, the United Bermuda Party must have been aware that a vote for this motion would have brought the present Government down and NOT the Government leader.

"It is inconceivable that the Government members would vote to bring their own Government down. It is my belief that I was elected to represent my constituents to the best of my ability. Following a three line whip in pursuit of a flawed motion was not what I was elected to do.

"My subsequent decision to tender my resignation as a member of the United Bermuda Party was not an easy step but it is one that is the culmination of a growing realisation that the UBP is unwilling or unable to change. I have no wish to be part of the throes of self-destruction of a party that continues to diminish."

He said he had joined the UBP believing it offered "a very viable vision for the people of Bermuda" with its mix of new young politicians and seasoned veterans.

"The UBP stood poised to become a strong Opposition and more importantly a credible choice for Bermudians dissatisfied with the way the current Government is performing," he continued.

"Unfortunately, my hopes that the party would change have been dashed. My experience in the United Bermuda Party has been substantially different from the philosophy that they profess and the philosophy that I embrace.

"After the 2007 election, the United Bermuda Party had a golden opportunity to make substantive change. After almost two years into this parliamentary term we have seen no progress, no innovation and no change.

"With the present Government's popularity waning, we should have been ideally placed to offer an alternate vision, but the United Bermuda Party has failed to do so.

"While I will no longer be a representative of the UBP, I will continue to serve the people of Hamilton South, Constituency Seven. I will fight for what I believe is right to ensure that the voices of my constituents continue to be heard and their issues championed.

"I believe that I have a very meaningful role to play in the future of our Island home."

UBP MP Charlie Swan yesterday said Mr. Tucker had not given any indication he did not support the motion, and hadn't turned up at the party caucus meeting earlier that day.

"There are times you have to do things which may be against your personal thoughts, but that's being a politician," said Mr. Swan.

He said Mr. Tucker had given a contradictory speech during the debate, saying: "I remember thinking: Darius, you just said something different two minutes ago."

Mr. Swan added that he believed reform was happening in the UBP but "some people perhaps are more impatient than others".

Last night the Progressive Labour Party called on UBP Leader Kim Swan to make a public apology for "attempting to depose a democratically elected government".

A spokesman said although Mr. Swan had told the House: "We are seeking a change in the leadership of the Government, not a change in the Government", Mr. Tucker had "revealed that Kim Swan lied".

"Tucker said, '(Kim Swan) said he could bring six to the table... that would have been 19. He would be able to form the Government. He was planning on going to Government House Saturday morning saying, Your Excellency, I have 19. I command the power'.

"On multiple occasions, Kim Swan said that the UBP's motion was not intended to bring down the PLP Government. He lied. And, he attempted to undermine our democracy by seizing power from our democratically-elected Government. This is a very serious matter and a very serious lie. The leader of the UBP repeatedly lied to the people of Bermuda about his intentions to bring down a democratically-elected government.

"We call upon Kim Swan to do the honourable thing: apologise and come clean to the people of Bermuda and to his colleagues in the House of Assembly.

"We urge the leaders of the protest movement to join our call. While it's clear that the vast majority of them support the UBP, if they are truly committed to good governance and not partisan politics, then there's no doubt that they will join us in our call."