"Am I going to resign? Absolutely not. No. Absolutely not."

That was the reaction from embattled Premier Ewart Brown as he faced the prospect of a no confidence vote today.

Despite the Opposition tabling the vote and further public protests scheduled for today over the Guantánamo Bay affair, Dr. Brown appeared to be in bullish mood yesterday as he fielded questions from the media.

Asked why speculation was mounting that he would quit, he replie"The rumours probably began because there's a strong sentiment out there being expressed by those who never wanted me in in the first place. They feel that I'm somewhat vulnerable at the moment, and they're coming on strong."

Asked he is indeed vulnerable, Dr. Brown replied "I don't know about vulnerable, but I'm engaged in a fight and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Pressed by one reporter over whether he believes he will still be Premier after today, he replied "Yes sir, I'd like to be."

Dr. Brown has come under heavy fire after allowing four Chinese Muslims to come to the Island, having been released from the US prison camp in Cuba. The men have twice been cleared by the US government of being enemy combatants, but no other country would take them until Bermuda stepped forward.

Critics are angry that the Premier gave the green light to the move without permission from the UK or consulting anyone in his Cabinet except Immigration Minister David Burch. In addition, Police Commissioner George Jackson revealed earlier this week that he only found out about the move after the men arrived. And he said he was not supplied with enough information about them to conduct a full security risk assessment.

There has been speculation that Dr. Brown could lose today's no confidence vote if backbench rebels from his own party vote against him, or enough abstain. Asked if he has the support of everyone in his party ahead of today's vote, Dr. Brown replied:<\p>"I have the support of the Progressive Labour Party and those who support the Progressive Labour Party."

Quizzed over whether he regrets the way he's handled the situation, he replied "I regret that the reaction has been this and I regret that, in order to make the deal go through, that I respected the request for secrecy. And I don't like to see my Country like this, but on the other hand if we don't go through some changes we don't grow."

He later added "There are parts of it that I would review but taking the step, the humanitarian step, was consistent with everything I've ever stood for."

Asked if he felt that satirical coverage of the situation in the United States had damaged Bermuda's reputation, he replied "Absolutely not. I think there's only one news station that has carried that. It's called Fox, and the name of it is significant too. I would say that the overwhelming response from the American public and media and legislators has been positive."

He has denied there being any specific deal stemming from the agreement with the US but has trumpeted what he described in a speech on Tuesday as "supreme confidence" that Bermuda has a better relationship with the US as a result.

However, Opposition MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin says the New York Tourism office has been "flooded" with cancellations since the former detainees were granted asylum in Bermuda. Several visitors on vacation here this week told The Royal Gazette they may boycott the Island in future as a result of the decision.

Asked if he fears the affair has had a negative impact on tourism, Dr. Brown replied that the impact has yet to be quantified.

"It's very difficult, you know. If a person calls up or sends an e-mail saying 'I had intended to come to Bermuda but because I don't like terrorists I'm not coming', you don't know whether that person had a booking or not. So we have to take those with a grain of salt," he commented.

"I think what we should do is put the science on it. At the end of the month we check our numbers and we see whether this situation has had an impact on numbers."

Dr. Brown confirmed that he's changed his mind about plans to travel to the US this weekend for the start of the Marion to Bermuda yacht race.

Further information also emerged yesterday that the full International Organisations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the US plans to come to Bermuda to conduct a hearing.

In a transcript of the committee's Tuesday meeting, chairman Bill Delahunt, who plans to make his own trip to the Island this weekend, stated "It would be my hope that we could conduct a hearing in Bermuda and have these four individuals testify, because as I said earlier, I think it's very important that we not we, necessarily but the American people hear from them directly without the filter of pundits and talking heads and those that may or may not have a particular bias."

The former detainees' lawyer Susan Baker Manning also told the meeting that Bermuda is happy for their families to visit, but that they are still in China and may experience difficulty leaving.

"There are enormous concerns with the treatment of their families by the Chinese government," she reported.