Trevor Moniz's obstinacy paid off last night when the United Bermuda Party (UBP) gave him a more high-powered portfolio after he refused to be Shadow Telecommunications Minister.

Lawyer Mr. Moniz will now be Shadow Attorney General in a newly-created shadow Ministry of Legislative Affairs, Justice, Telecommunications and E-Commerce.

Fellow lawyer John Barritt, who had been appointed Shadow Legislative Affairs Minister after the July 24 election defeat, is shuffled over to be House Leader and Party Whip.

Mr. Moniz was offered Shadow Telecommunications on August 6, but held out for three weeks against accepting while he horse-traded with party leader Dr. Grant Gibbons for a better post.

At the time of being offered the position, he said he had little interest in Telecommunications - and neither had anyone else since it was the last post to be offered in the shadow cabinet.

His strategy of holding out for a better post has paid off after the UBP created a shadow ministry for him which combines legal matters as well as Telecommunications and E-commerce.

Dr. Gibbons put a positive spin on the changes to his shadow cabinet, stating last night: "Mr. Moniz as a former President of the Bermuda Bar and a veteran lawyer has all the experience and the diligence to be a tenacious advocate for the concerns of all Bermudians.

"This newly-created shadow ministry plays not only to his individual strengths, but strengthens our parliamentary team as well."

Mr. Moniz will now be charged with taking on Attorney General Paula Cox in the House of Assembly, as well as Ren?e Webb at Telecommunications and E-Commerce.

It is not the first time the maverick MP has been a thorn in the side of the UBP establishment.

Former party leader Pamela Gordon withdrew the party whip from him in 1999 citing his failure to attend caucus meetings and claims he was not a team player.

Mr. Moniz said when the whip was taken from him that he believed one factor was because he had been pushing for a register of all MP's interests, which he said had irked some UBP MP's.

He spent three years in the political wilderness until September 2002, when the whip was restored to him.

He was one of the Rebel Five MPs who opposed Sir John Swan's independence bid in 1985 and the attempt to bring a McDonald's franchise to Bermuda.

Referring to Mr. Barritt's new appointment, Dr. Gibbons said: "He has proven himself to be a strong and articulate asset to our parliamentary team and will play a pivotal role in helping the new United Bermuda Party team develop and implement our legislative agenda."

With Mr. Moniz accepting the new roll, Dr. Gibbons was able to unveil his full shadow cabinet team for the first time.

Mr. Moniz could not be contacted for comment last night.