The Opposition has questioned the impartiality of the Bermuda Independence Commission after Government?s BIC liaison Phillip Perinchief made apparently pro-independence public statements at a school meeting last week.

Mr. Perinchief appeared alongside representatives from the United Nations Decolonisation Committee at the Bermuda Institute on Thursday, where he and committee members answered questions about Independence posed by the student body.

Saying ?we now have to move on to the next stage? beyond our 1960s crafted constitution, Mr. Perinchief told students ?the time has come for us to stand up tall and do for ourselves? and ?there is zero correlation between Independence and the value of your dollar or your economy?.

When contacted yesterday, Mr. Perinchief denied he had crossed the boundaries defined by his position, suggesting he was merely passing on information given to him by overseas advisors and experts since his work on the project began.

He added that he was not speaking on behalf of BIC, but was giving his personal views on the issue as a Bermudian - thereby contradicting the thrust of his earlier statement.

?It is also important to appreciate the context in which I was speaking,? he said. ?My comments on the economy were based on information told to us by officials by the Central Bank at the (British) Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

?My comments on the constitution were based on what the FCO said in the 1960s when our constitution was drawn up in London in that it was designed specifically to be a pre-Independence constitution.

?Based on what the FCO said then, it stands to reason that they anticipated us making the next step and my comments were just an extrapolation of their original premise. If by presenting these facts I can debunk existing myths then fine. But that is not pro-Independence.?

But speaking to yesterday, United Bermuda Party Leader Grant Gibbons argued Mr. Perinchief had no right as a civil servant and legal advisor to the apolitical BIC to express views for or against Independence in a public forum.

He also labelled the meeting in general a ?pro-Independence propaganda exercise? which was ?entirely inappropriate? given that the committee was addressing schoolchildren.

Mr. Perinchief was appointed in December to the key liaison role and was also seconded into the Central Policy Unit (CPU).

Eyebrows were raised at the time of Mr. Perinchief?s appointment, with many pointing out that he had been an outspoken advocate of Independence for decades and was therefore not the right man to be representing an organisation with supposedly no political bias or specific view on the Independence question.

Premier Alex Scott defended the decision, arguing that as a lawyer, Mr. Perinchief would be capable of arguing for both sides.

The Opposition Leader has already questioned the validity of the BIC inviting the UN Decolonisation Committee ? an unashamedly pro-independence body ? to the Island to liaise with them and the public, stating that Independence was an issue which had to be sorted out among Bermudians themselves without outside interference.

Indeed, even Government rejected a proposed visit from the UN in October 2004 on the same basis, but changed tune in March of this year when the UN?s presence was requested by BIC.was present at Thursday?s meeting and can confirm that while many committee members warned Independence does not represent the panacea to the Island?s problems, all ? including Mr. Perinchief ? argued that sovereignty was a cause worth pursuing.

In response to questions from students ? which any of those on the ?panel? could volunteer to answer if they so wished ? Mr. Perinchief offered a number of responses.

Introducing himself as the Government liaison to the BIC and addressing a query as to the real value of Independence for Bermuda, he stated: ?I?m often asked whether Bermuda is ready for Independence.

?What is clear is that Bermuda is legislatively ready, but it is not yet psychologically ready,? Mr. Perinchief continued. ?Whether it (the British Government) chooses to or not, the fact is that it can veto the laws that Bermuda wants.

?You?ve got to ask yourselves whether we possess a Bermuda constitution or a UK one? As a country we need to grow constitutionally. Since the drawing up of the 1968 constitution, we have had internal rule but we now have to move to the next stage.

?Going Independent would allow us to join international organisations, join and meet new people, be exposed to greater technical and vocational training. The time has come for us to stand up tall and do for ourselves rather than non-Bermudians 4,000 miles away who might not have our best interests at heart. There are 191 independent countries in the world. 16 remain dependent territories, 11 belonging to the UK. 16 versus 191 is a serious minority.?

Asked about the economic implications of Independence, Mr. Perinchief said that according to his discussions with British Foreign Office representatives and the Bermuda Monetary Authority, there was no evidence to suggest Bermuda would suffer an economic downturn as a result of becoming a sovereign nation.

?There is zero correlation between Independence and economic decline,? he said. ?There is zero correlation between Independence and the value of your dollar or your economy.

?International companies would not flee Bermuda just because she goes Independent, as long as there was political stability, a strong economy and tax relief. We have all those ingredients and a thriving democracy so the basis for going Independent is already there ? although there is always room for improvement.?

Mr. Perinchief?s comments, however, did not sit well with Dr. Gibbons.

?First of all it seems completely inappropriate for Mr. Perinchief to be speaking on behalf of the Bermuda Independence Commission,? he said.

?His comments have tainted the supposed balance that the Premier and the Chairman (of BIC Bishop Vernon Lambe) promised the Commission would provide.

?In fact, by all accounts the whole meeting was nothing more than a pro-independence propaganda exercise which again is highly inappropriate given that they were dealing with schoolchildren.

?We need to hear from the Chairman on this. He needs to state unequivocally that Mr. Perinchief had no right to speak for the Commission and that his one-sided comments do not reflect the views of the Commission.?

Meanwhileattempted to contact Premier Scott yesterday to ask whether he approved of a high-ranking civil servant and Government?s liaison to BIC proffering his personal opinions on Independence in public ? although no response was forthcoming by Press time last night.

Meanwhile, BIC Chairman Bishop Lambe sought to distance himself from the affair and would also not speak directly to his impressions of Mr. Perinchief?s comments ? despite the Opposition?s demands to the contrary. ?Mr. Perinchief was assigned to us, I did not appoint him,? he said. ?And to be honest it really is not my business ? I was not at that meeting.

?What I can say is that since I began working with Mr. Perinchief we have functioned together in a credible way in that we have been non-biased and non-partisan.?