Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons has openly criticised the Premier for what he terms a ?predictable exercise in damage control?.

Dr. Gibbons was responding to the public letter in yesterday?s newspaper in which Premier Alex Scott defended the controversial e-mail which led to him being accused of racism.

In this letter, Mr. Scott apologised for the use of the world ?crap? in the e-mail that was mistakenly sent to entertainer Tony Brannon.

But the Premier denied that his statement ?getting tired of listening to, and taking crap from people who look and sound like Brannon? was a racial reference. Mr. Scott also attacked the Island?s media, including this newspaper, for being ?divisive? and promised that his month?s Throne Speech would contain ?a major initiative to address these elements that seek to divide us?.

But Dr. Gibbons said yesterday that the Premier?s public response to the controversy should surprise no one.

?Coming five days after the story broke, his inadequate explanation was yet another predictable exercise in damage control: take your time responding to get the excuse just right, then blame the messenger and finally attack the media,? he said.

Dr. Gibbons said regardless of how the Premier and his advisors try to ?spin his blunder?, everyone in Bermuda understands exactly what he meant when he said ?people who look and sound like Brannon.?

?The Premier?s comments were racially divisive and make a total mockery of his favourite slogan, ?Bermuda works best when we work together,? he said.

Dr. Gibbons added that his comments ?demean? the position of Premier and are an affront to the entire country and not just Mr. Brannon.

?He has misled the country over Berkeley, the Bermuda Homes for People project and the Bermuda Independence Commission report, to name just a few examples,? he said.

Dr. Gibbons said if the Premier wants to put an end to ?this season of bad conduct?, he must not only hold himself but also his Cabinet colleagues to a higher standard of performance and integrity.

Not a single member of Cabinet, he said, has been held accountable for the scandals and broken promises that have plagued the Government for seven years and have led to its ?utter lack of credibility?.

?We thank the Premier for reminding us that freedom of speech comes with both responsibility and accountability, but so does the privilege of governing,? he said.

Dr. Gibbons said Mr. Scott?s comment in the letter to ?address these elements that seek to divide us? in the upcoming Throne Speech was, what he termed, ?a thinly veiled threat?.

?While his language is evasive, we hope that Premier Scott is not attempting to stifle legitimate criticism through legislative means.

?Any attack on Bermudians? freedom of speech to prop up a floundering administration strikes at the core of our democratic rights and privileges. It would be rightly viewed as a dangerous and unwise initiative,? he said.

Meanwhile the man at the centre of the controversy, Mr. Brannon, said it was time to get back on the real issue, which was the dire state of tourism in Bermuda ? and not the errant e-mail. He said the fact that his original e-mail to the Premier and Tourism Minister Ewart Brown led to the Premier getting ?so flustered that he would fire off such an e-mail? shows that he is under pressure.

?These guys are getting shell shocked,? he said.