A niece of late Tourism Minister David Allen last night released an emotional statement to counter the "unfortunate" claims made by his friend Shirley Rose Higgins.

She said the stories that appeared in The Mid Ocean News yesterday claiming that Mr. Allen had not been given the full support and care that he deserved in his final days by some of his friends were in no way how his family felt.

Lisa Windhorst, who travelled to Bermuda to represent her family and to pay respects to her uncle after he died a week last Thursday, said she had been saddened by the allegations in the news.

"This afternoon, I went to the Department of Tourism to thank the staff for their kindness to my uncle Mr. David Allen during his illness and to me during my short time in Bermuda," said Mrs. Windhorst.

"I was very shocked to learn of the article in the newspaper and feel compelled to make this statement, particularly in light of the release of my uncle's confidential medical records, which is unconscionable.

"I want to make it absolutely clear that the interview in The Mid Ocean News with Ms Shirley Rose Higgins in no way reflects my family's feelings about the care that my uncle received during his illness.

"We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate article, which has tainted the tremendous "send-off" that the people of Bermuda gave my uncle yesterday.

"David Allen was a very private person and the people who were with him during his last days were the people he wanted to see.

"Some of the information Ms Higgins gave the paper contradicts the information she gave us, the family in Louisville. In her conversations with my mother, who was ill with pneumonia and was required to remain in Louisville, she indicated that my uncle was as comfortable as possible.

"When my mother and I were told by doctors in Boston of the seriousness of his condition, we immediately flew there and we were with him for the rest of the week until he was flown to Bermuda.

"The care and compassion that was shown to my uncle to us while in Boston by (Tourism) director Judith Hall-Bean, Thomas MacDonald, head of the Boston tourism office, and David Dumont, my uncle's aide, was exemplary and beyond the call of duty.

"David Allen was not a poor judge of character and he knew that his trust and respect in Alex Scott were well placed. The actions taken by Alex Scott in this matter were at the express request of my uncle.

"He was protecting my uncle and carrying out his wishes. My uncle would be extremely upset to know that his privacy had been violated in this way.

"From what I have experienced here in the last few days, there is no question of the love and respect that the Department of Tourism, his colleagues and friends had for him and the care that they gave him.

"My mother and I want the people of Bermuda, the staff of the Department of Tourism, my uncle's colleagues and friends to know that his family deeply appreciates everything that was done for him to make his last days as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

"We thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts."