brakes on the purchase of oversized upmarket Peugeot cars for Government Ministers.

And Shadow Transport Minister Erwin Adderley crashed head on with Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott's claim that the 406 model cars' larger size would make them easier to sell off the Island when they reach the end of the road.

Mr. Adderley said: "The Minister is reported to have admitted that the car is longer than permitted by current regulations and he also suggests that the car may be wider than is permitted.

"The Minister goes on to attempt to rationalise this decision -- this rationalisation in our opinion does not stand up under close scrutiny and also raises other important issues which need to be addressed.'' Mr. Scott -- who will use the first of a planned five Peugeots himself -- said the car was within amended regulations covering cars used by the Premier or Ministers -- and that its $43,000 cost was offset by $22,000 in tax, transferred to Customs coffers in a paper transaction between departments.

He added that the cars would attract a higher resale value when they are sold off in five to ten years time.

But Mr. Adderley said: "One must question why Government has to purchase such an expensive car at a time when Government departments have been directed to cut their budgets by five percent.'' And he added that expensive cars also looked bad when Government was "scratching around'' to find money to renovate rest homes for the elderly.

Mr. Adderley dismissed the claim that the larger cars would be easier to sell off the Island as "nonsense.'' He said there were few markets for right-hand drive cars -- and that resale in the UK could not take place because the specifications of the model bought lacked Euro-style emission controls and safety features.

Mr. Adderley added: "It would appear to make far more economic sense to purchase a car that was capable of being sold locally when it had outlived its Ministerial life, so to speak, or even better, capable of being reassigned to the Government car pool in order to avoid having to purchase a replacement for a worn-out car in that pool.'' Mr. Scott added that the supplier of the new car, Continental Motors, had fixed up the ageing BMW GP1, the official transport of the Premier, while negotiations for a replacement vehicle went on -- an additional saving to the public purse.

But Mr. Adderley said: "Pardon the pun, but he is going to extraordinary lengths to justify that Ministers should enjoy more luxurious vehicles -- vehicles which are not otherwise available to the public because they run afoul of the regulations governing size.'' Erwin Adderley