should be made public, Opposition legal affairs spokesman John Barritt said yesterday.

And he called on Governor Thorold Masefield to release the full findings of an inquiry by English QC John Roberts.

Mr. Barritt said: "There are very good reasons why it should be -- we now know that the case was `not handled in the customary way'.

"That all of us already knew -- we are further told there was no evidence that the process was manipulated for political reasons or to give Rodney Smith, the accused, an advantage.

"But what we are not told -- and this is the most important question -- is why wasn't it handled in the customary way.

"And we need to know what was the motive of the person or persons who decided not to handle it in the customary way.'' Mr. Barritt added: "There are a number of other questions which we in the Opposition had at the outset which remain unanswered.

"The public deserves the answers -- it's not good enough simply to refer the report to the panel which dealt with the appointment of a Director of Public Prosecutions.

"That makes it look like the inquiry was nothing more than a witch hunt with respect to one individual. We wanted to establish not only what happened by why.'' Mr. Barritt said: "It's our position, if we're going to maintain integrity in the prosecution of cases and public confidence in the integrity of the criminal justice system, that an investigation must not only have been done, but be seen to be done.'' A probe by Dr. Roberts was launched after after Mr. Smith, a former Progressive Labour Party candidate, was charged with a minor assault on a former tenant and appeared in court last October.

Mr. Smith told Magistrate Archie Warner that he had been advised by someone in the Attorney General's Chambers to appear in October -- rather than the original December date -- and that he understood the case would be "dispensed'' of with a binding over, which means no conviction would be recorded.

Crown counsel Leighton Rochester said he knew nothing of that and that he had only been briefed on the case the previous evening. Mr. Rochester asked for the case to revert to the original date.

Mr. Warner the following day opted for a binding over, but said: "Somewhere along this process someone tried to interfere with this process.'' Dr. Roberts' report said contact had been made between the AG's Chambers and Mr. Smith "which left individual officers open to criticism and suspicion''.

But he found no evidence that the process had been "manipulated for political reasons or to give Mr. Smith an advantage''.

Principal Crown counsel Khamisi Tokunbo is understood to have been the candidate nominated by a special panel for the new job of Director of Public Prosecutions and his name forwarded to the Foreign Office in London.

The Foreign office ordered Dr. Roberts to review the handling of the Smith case and asked the Governor if he wanted to review the nomination. Mr.

Masefield has asked the interview board to review its recommendation.