new laws to crack down on driving under the influence of drugs would automatically lead to a ban on travel to America.

Consulate staffer Sylvia Hammond also ruled out ever revealing the names of people excluded from travel to the US to the Bermuda Government.

The US Consulate General's office also rubbished claims that 5000-plus Bermudians could be banned from travel to the US.

Ms Hammond added: "If someone is convicted of driving under the influence of a controlled substance they could possibly be ineligible -- but that is something I would have to determine when they came to us.'' And she said: "All sovereign countries control the entry of people into their countries -- in reference to any request that we publish the `stop list', all US government records pertaining to the issue or refusal of visas or permits is strictly confidential.'' She added: "Only the Consul and the officer in charge of the INS preclearance facility can inform a person they are ineligible to travel to the US.'' And she said anyone with queries about their eligibility to visit America should contact the US Consulate General. She added that all inquiries were confidential. Ms Hammond moved to set the record straight after increasingly wild claims about current US policy, including some by Opposition Senate Leader Milton Scott, were made.

And she poured cold water on claims by Sen. Scott that "US agents'' could be stalking Bermuda's courts and even schools "working to gather information on students and other people who may be taking drugs.'' Sen. Scott also claimed that people taken to court for driving under the influence of drugs could be slapped with an exclusion order -- even if they were not convicted.

US officials clear up `stop list' allegations Ms Hammond said that -- excluding the drugs-busting Operation Cleansweep, which used some US Drug Enforcement Agency officers in a joint Bermuda/US undercover swoop -- US agents did not operate in Bermuda.

She added: "We don't have anybody doing that kind of stuff -- it would be an infringement of Bermuda's sovereignty to conduct undercover operations.'' And she said: "The only way we really know anything is if people come in and tell us -- you'd be surprised how many do. If they are asking to go to the US for drugs treatment, that's considered an admission of drug use. People also come in and tell us they've been arrested.

"We don't know of every court case in Bermuda and we don't request information from the courts. Typically, someone tells us something and we confirm that with the local authorities.'' Ms Hammond said the `stop list' -- a term not used in the US -- was a computer database contributed to by US officials worldwide.

She explained: "There is no way we can sit down and draft up a list which would tell you by number and name. We don't enter people by nationality, you're entered by name.'' Ms Hammond declined to speculate on how many Bermudians were barred from the US -- and insisted no foreign government would ever be told anyway.

She said: "We are not going to provide them with such information. Some computer person in Washington might be able to come up with that, but it's irrelevant anyway.

"We are not going to tell them how many there are. We consider it would be inappropriate to make such a request.'' But it is understood the number of Bermudians likely to be ineligible for travel to the US is far less than the 5000 claimed.

She said: "That's a number they just made up -- we have no idea where they got that figure.'' US Consul General Robert Farmer told a meeting of Hamilton Lions earlier this year that around 2000 aliens in Bermuda, mostly Bermudian, were barred from America because of criminal activity.

But he added that waivers could be granted in certain circumstances which would allow people with criminal convictions to travel to the US.

Dr. Derrick Binns of the NDC recently said his organisation had already stopped referring people to the US for drugs treatment because of an alleged blanket ban on drug users.

But Ms Hammond dismissed claims that Bermudians seeking treatment for drugs could never enter the US.

She said: "They're ineligible -- but the mere fact that a person is currently using drugs does not mean that person can't seek treatment in the US.

"It would be up to us to decide whether they could travel. We would decide on a case-by-case basis. If someone is otherwise of good character, whether they could pay for the treatment and if we were satisfied they intended to return to Bermuda after treatment would all be taken into consideration.'' She added: "We have been approving people for travel since this whole thing got going.''