his plan to conduct another review of the Prison Service, saying an inquiry into its administration and manning was needed.

Mr. Edness, criticised for announcing the inquiry when a review of security measures following the escape of convicted murderer Troy Shorter was already being conducted, said the first inquiry is primarily examining security measures.

"The reason we need to have a further inquiry is following the Shorter escape and other incidents we needed to know if we had the best security procedures in place,'' he said.

"We are now interested in looking at prison administration, security, hiring procedures and criteria, training, the relationship between Government and the Commissioner and Public Service Commission appointments,'' he said.

"We also want to broaden the scope of the inquiry to look at the rules and regulations surrounding the prison.'' Mr. Edness, who said he expected to announce the name of the heads of the inquiry shortly, said it would be held behind closed doors. One Bermudian and one foreign official would lead it. Most if not all of its findings would be made public.

Only those findings which would create a security risk if they were published would be left out, he said.

He also said he is still considering releasing the report into the actual escape of Shorter, in which three prison officers were demoted after it became clear their negligence had contributed to the escape.

Both Mr. Edness and Commissioner Mr. Milton Pringle have been heavily criticised for a series of embarrassing incidents at Casemates Prison.