House of Assembly Speaker Stanley Lowe said yesterday he did not inform MPs of the contents of a letter explaining why a report into Bermuda Housing Corporation (BHC) is being kept under wraps because the information had been leaked to the Press.

Auditor General Larry Dennis wrote a letter to Mr. Lowe - copied to Premier Jennifer Smith, Health Minister Nelson Bascome, and Opposition leader Dr. Grant Gibbons - saying he had received legal advice not to make his report public yet because it could jeopardise possible criminal prosecutions.

Mr. Dennis was called in to carry out an inquiry into BHC following allegations of corruption, kickbacks, and overpayments to some contractors.

In the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr. Lowe said it was "inappropriate" to read what Mr. Dennis had planned to do in the Mid-Ocean News on May 17.

However, Dr. Gibbons read out the contents of the letter to MPs on May 17. Mr. Lowe said MPs should decide whether Dr. Gibbons' actions had been "appropriate".

In a statement to MPs yesterday, Mr. Lowe said: "The letter was addressed to me from the Auditor General regarding the report of his probe into the financial affairs of Bermuda Housing Corporation. It was addressed to the Speaker.

"Seeing its contents widely reported in the Mid-Ocean News on the May 17 was regrettable. It was for that reason that I chose not to inform the House of its contents.

"It can only be regarded as inappropriate to be reading in the printed media what was expected to be said in Parliament rather than what was actually said in Parliament.

"Further, the full contents of the letter were later revealed by the Honourable leader of the Opposition Dr. Grant Gibbons. I will leave it to the House to decide on the appropriateness of this action, although well-intentioned."