Protest over the recent hiring of two Englishmen as Bermuda's top cops moved to the UK last night as a two-man Progressive Labour Party delegation left for London to hand-deliver a 5,000-signature petition to the British Foreign Office.

Party Leader Mr. Frederick Wade and Shadow Finance Minister Mr. Eugene Cox are to arrive in the British capital this morning to "personally take the community protest and petition to Foreign and Commonwealth Under Secretary of State Mr. Tony Baldry'' and clear up a number of misconceptions they say have been imparted to the British Parliament by sources in Bermuda.

While in London, the pair have arranged a meeting with members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, a tentative meeting with British Opposition Leader Mr. Tony Blair and a briefing with controversial Labour Party MP Mr. Bernie Grant.

Mr. Grant, who had offered to collect the petition personally and submit it to the proper authorities in January, has been the protestors' voice in London since being called into service by Mr. Wade.

"Our trip, which will come as a surprise to many, is being embarked upon once it was realised that a considerable amount of apparently-misleading information has been presented to the British Parliament in response to questions tabled by Mr. Grant on behalf of the PLP and the many Bermudians who question the very controversial decision which was taken by Governor Lord Waddington, Premier Sir John Swan and Delegated Affairs Minister Mr. Irving Pearman,'' Mr. Wade said.

"The party feels it has a responsibility to correct the misinformation that Mr. Baldry has been supplied with from Bermuda.'' When he was asked what the nature of the misinformation was, Mr. Wade cited the belief in Britain that "no opposition had been voiced'' to the Governor before his decision and the assertion by Mr. Baldry in January that "there are no allowances payable to the expatriate commissioner and deputy commissioner of Police which would not be payable to a Bermudian appointee.'' Mr. Wade claimed that overseas appointments are routinely supplied with housing, travel and transport allowances that would be unnecessary with a Bermudian candidate.

He also said that he had personally voiced his concerns over both the appointments and the process by which they were appointed to Governor Lord Waddington in advance. The positions of commissioner and deputy commissioner went to Britons Mr. Colin Coxall and Mr. Michael Mylod respectively.

Mr. Wade and Mr. Cox are to return from London on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the PLP released a transcript yesterday of the Police-related questions that Mr. Grant tabled in the British House of Commons last month as well as Mr. Baldry's responses.

In one section, the MP for the London borough of Tottenham asked Mr. Baldry "if the current vacancies in Bermuda for the posts of commissioner and deputy commissioner (were) open to (a) suitably qualified Bermudians, (b) suitably qualified candidates from other dependent territories, (c) suitably qualified candidates from the Caribbean and other areas in the region and (d) suitably qualified candidates from Africa.'' Mr. Baldry replied: "Yes. All vacancies are open to Bermudians where possible. In this particular instance, in the absence of any suitably qualified Bermudian candidates, the Governor and Government decided to recruit from the UK.'' Further on, Mr. Grant asked "the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs where the advertisements for the posts of commissioner and deputy commissioner...(had) been placed.'' Mr. Baldry answered: "The posts were not advertised in this instance and, because of the need to fill the posts with reasonable expedition, the Governor and Government decided to recruit from the United Kingdom.'' Mr. Wade said yesterday that Mr. Baldry's answers gave the erroneous impression "that Bermudians had been given a fair chance at the jobs.'' He also repeated an earlier contention that the Public Service Commission, which advises the Governor on public appointments, had been placed under "house arrest'' by Lord Waddington in his haste to finalise the selections.

Mr. Coxall, a Deputy Police Commissioner for the City of London, will take over from retiring Police Commissioner Mr. Lennett Edwards in March.

Mr. Mylod -- second in command of the English county of Hampshire's 3,000-strong Police force -- will assume the post of retiring Deputy Commissioner Mr. Alex Forbes in April.