after host Mr. Walton Brown accused Government of censorship.

Mr. Brown claimed yesterday he was issued a directive from the Government-appointed Broadcasting Commissioners requiring that all future topics and guests of the show be vetted by the Bermuda Broadcasting Company.

But The Royal Gazette has learned that the BBC issued the directive itself because of concerns that the show's March 2 episode breached political broadcastuing rules.

Mr. Brown, chairman of the Committee for the Independence of Bermuda, accused the Broadcasting Commissioners of issuing the directives.

But BBC managing director Mr. Malcolm Fletcher said Government had "nothing whatsoever to do with (the order)''.

He said the BBC issued the directive on its own after the March 2 episode, which featured an interview with Shadow Finance Minister the Hon. Eugene Cox, was deemed by the BBC to be a political broadcast. As a result, Mr. Brown was told that all future topics and guests would have to be vetted by the BBC.

"This is a bold and disturbing violation of fundamental principles of free speech and democracy,'' Mr. Brown said in a statement.

"Once you agree to vetting, you are condoning censorship.'' But Mr. Fletcher disagreed: "It is seeing that we abide by the (broadcast) regulations.'' Mr. Brown, executive producer of the show, put on by his company OGUN Communications, said it would remain off the air until the dispute was settled.

He said he had read the broadcast regulations and did not see how his show was different from BBC's News and Views in that political personalities were interviewed.

"Why is my show being singled out?,'' he asked.

He added that he had invited Finance Minister the Hon. David Saul to appear on the show with Mr. Cox, but he had declined.

And he said he was meeting with the Broadcasting Commissioners on March 25 to protest the directive.

"We will strongly protest the categorisation of the programme as a political broadcast and fight to maintain the high standards of broadcast integrity we have always adhered to,'' he said.

Broadcasting Commissioners chairperson Mrs. Louise Jackson denied giving the directive.

She had never even seen the show, nor had she or any other commissioner met with the BBC.

She added she had spoken to Mr. Brown about his claims and explained all this to him.

"He was quite happy and I told him I looked forward to seeing tonight's (Tuesday's) show,'' she said.

But Mr. Brown insisted the directive came from the Commissioners. He claimed Government Telecommunications Officer Mr. Ted Pitman, who acts on behalf of the Broadcasting Commissioners, had given the directive to Mr. Fletcher.