Base lands lease payments from overseas armed forces has been shot down by Shadow Finance Minister Grant Gibbons.

Dr. Gibbons wrote to the Financial Times to correct statements in a special Bermuda supplement, published in May.

He told the FT: "Bermuda has never received lease payments for land occupied by the British, Canadian or US military bases on the Island.'' But he added the Island had lost as much as $50 million in foreign currency earnings when the overseas presence ended in the mid-1990s as part of the peace dividend following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

And Dr. Gibbons took a fresh swipe at the US Navy's reluctance to clear up the multi-million dollar mess they left behind when it quit its Naval Air Station and Annex in Bermuda.

Dr. Gibbons wrote: "Although the US base was set up under the Leased Bases Agreement in the early 1940s, the land in question was acquired from Bermudians and paid for by the Bermuda Government. No rent was ever charged to the US.

"This fact -- and the fact that the base was established primarily to help protect the East Coast of the US during the Second World War -- are key factors in negotiations over environmental remediation betweeen the Bermuda Government and the US Navy.'' He added: "These unresolved negotiations have been ongoing since the US base closure in September, 1995.'' The US forces left tons of potentially deadly asbestos behind and thousands of gallons of oil has leaked from underground tanks -- especially at Southampton's old US Naval Annex, now known as Morgan's Point and earmarked for a major tourist development.

Dr. Gibbons added: "Britain and Canada have contributed to cleaning up their former Bermuda bases.

"However, redevelopment of the former US baselands has been hampered by the reluctance to date of the US Navy to take responsibility for the oil, asbestos and lead pollution that they left behind.'' The UK forked out more than a million dollars to remove oil -- some believed to date from early this century -- which had been dumped in caves near the former HMS Malabar and Dockyard.

Correction: Grant Gibbons Graphic file name: GIBBG