A police officer tasked with reviewing applications for large-group exemptions initially recommended that an event at Blu Bar and Grill in the midst of the pandemic be refused permission, determining that it would “make an ass out of regulations”.

Sergeant Lyndon Raynor, under secondment to the Ministry of National Security at the time of the event, told the Supreme Court yesterday that the original letter he received about the event listed no exceptional circumstances and that it appeared the restaurant had taken too many reservations.

Under those circumstances, he wrote to Wayne Caines, then Minister of National Security, saying that the ministry should not remedy the issue by granting an exception.

However, he said he later recommended the event after being informed it would serve as a charity fundraiser, determining that it would create an exceptional circumstance given the challenges facing charities at the time.

Sergeant Raynor said: “During my time with the ministry and working during the Covid-19 pandemic, I was aware that many charities were reaching a point where they were running out of money.”

The officer accepted under cross-examination that while Covid regulations at the time limited group sizes to 50 — and the number of people at a restaurant table to ten — they did not strictly limit the number of people who could be in a restaurant provided that social distancing was practised.

As such, he agreed that if the restaurant had received three different bookings of fewer than 50 people each, rather than a single booking for 130, an exception would not have been required.

Zane DeSilva, his daughter, Zarah Harper, and another woman, Angela Caldwell, have denied charges of giving false information to a public officer in July 2020 in connection with the party, held at the Blu Bar and Grill on July 3 that year.

Mr DeSilva, who is a Progressive Labour Party MP for Southampton East, Ms Harper and Ms Caldwell are accused of providing information to an official at the Ministry of National Security that they did not believe to be true.

Prosecutors have alleged that the three claimed the event was intended to be a fundraiser for Meals on Wheels as part of a “contrivance” to get the green light for a party.

The court previously heard that Mr Caines had granted permission for the party to go ahead.

Mr Caines told the court that he approved the application because it would help to allow the restaurant to “recommence commerce” while raising money for a charity.

He added that he had not agreed with the observations made by Sergeant Raynor in his response to the initial letter, which suggested the application was intended to skirt Covid regulations.

Peter Smith, the former president and chairman of Meals on Wheels, said he knew nothing about the event until days later when he read about it on the website of The Royal Gazette.

“I saw a story in The Royal Gazette that quoted someone with the Ministry of Tourism saying Meals on Wheels had been granted a permit to have a function,” he told the court.

“Of course, that wasn’t true. That was the first I had heard of this specific event.”

He said he had begun to put in calls to find out what had happened when he received a call from Mr DeSilva, who said it was his daughter’s event and that he would like to organise a cheque presentation to give the charity $10,000 later that day.

Mr Smith said he later received a call from Ms Harper, who said she had intended to make a surprise donation for the charity and suggested a cheque presentation later in the week.

He said he wrote back to Ms Harper asking if he could receive more information about the event, such as how attendees were asked to contribute, how much was collected, what information about the charity was delivered and how the charity fitted into the promotion of the event.

Ms Harper responded that she did not want to get into the requested details but, given the public scrutiny that the event had received, she would be willing to donate the funds to another charity if that was what Meals on Wheels desired, the court heard.

Mr Smith said that after discussions, the board determined it would rather have the funds go towards another deserving charity.

He told the court that while Meals on Wheels does solicit donations, in the summer of 2020 it was on solid financial ground thanks to a large donation and had suggested to other corporate donors at the time that they donate to other causes.

Under cross-examination by Jerome Lynch, KC, Mr Smith said Meals on Wheels often received surprise donations and was not always made aware of fundraising events.

He added that if he had received more information about the event, the charity’s board may have decided to accept the funds, but its questions had not been answered.

• UPDATE: the headline and story have been amended to make clear that police officer Sergeant Lyndon Raynor had been seconded to the Ministry of National Security at the time of the charity dinner application and was not acting for the Bermuda Police Service.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case