political fall-out of Thursday's PrimeTime programme.

Premier the Hon. Sir John Swan said Government would focus on the importance of Bermuda as a site for the US Naval Air Station.

The case needed to be hammered out over the next few months to sway the minds of key people who may want to axe the base, said Sir John.

US Defence Secretary Dick Cheney was due to make his recommendations on base closures to the Base Closing Commission in mid-March 1993.

The commission, made up of the President's appointees and Congressional leaders, puts forward its final proposal to Congress.

Said Sir John: "We have to make out the importance of the Bermuda location in terms of its value to the United States.

"Not only in terms of the military point of view, but also from the civilian standpoint.

"Bermuda has value in terms of drug containment, as well as mid-ocean search and rescue.

"We have to refocus the issue away from the military issue. That's our intention. That's what we're working on.'' In further political reaction yesterday, Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade called on Government to form a coherent plan for the Base.

"They must decide what's best for Bermuda, and act upon it,'' he said.

Mr. Wade, who saw a recording of the programme, said he hoped Government was discussing the Base's future with Washington and London.

He said warning signs about a reduction of the Base's role, and possible eventual closure, had been visible for some time.

Mr. Wade said he believed PrimeTime's programme could accelerate the closure of the base -- if such a step was already planned.

He declined to comment specifically about the programme's allegations.

National Liberal Party leader Mr. Gilbert Darrell, meanwhile, said he did not believe the United States would uproot from the Base because of the programme.

But he warned the US under President-elect Clinton may concentrate on domestic affairs -- shifting focus from overseas, including Bermuda.

Mr. Darrell said Bermuda was still strategically located, and the Country would hopefully ride out the bad publicity.

NLP spokesman Mr. Graeme Outerbridge branded the TV report as "gutter journalism, a one-sided treatment that could hurt Bermuda''.

"While the television report referred to improprieties involving Base personnel, the issue doesn't have anything to do with whether the Base is militarily viable or not.

"We can only hope that the appropriate US Government will assess only the base's viability in making its decision,'' he said.

The Committee for the Independence of Bermuda reacted to the programme by saying it marked "another nail in Colonialism's Coffin.'' "For so many years we have taken the US base for granted and their operation of the Air Terminal, but both operations now seem to be in serious danger of being cut within a short period of time,'' said member Mr. Walton Brown.

In the House of Assembly last night, Sir John warned Bermuda was not in a position to negotiate over the Base, and he told MPs: "There is no point in us playing games with ourselves.'' "We have a lease agreement that has been signed and the UBP intends to uphold that agreement. It has served this Country well.'' Sir John hoped Government's ties with the Democrats and Republicans in America would enable Bermuda's interests to be preserved.

But the Country should argue on the basis that the base was important for America.

UBP MP The Hon. Dr. John Stubbs said he believed PrimeTime's programme "would be a 10-day wonder which will disappear into the recesses of memory''.