Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb has no shares in disaster recovery firm Fort Knox, but would not mind it if she did.

"If I owned shares in Fort Knox I would let the world know - I think it's a great company. If I did it would not be a problem anyway because I would declare it," Ms Webb told The Royal Gazette yesterday.

The Minister was responding to a rumour being spread on the Internet that she owns part of the company.

Fort Knox CEO, Troy Symonds, was not impressed with the e-mail, which began circulating on Friday.

He said that the company was "greatly distressed" by the "malicious allegations" made in the e-mail.

"While we appreciate the prevalent political intrigues, the Fort Knox Bermuda team was surprised and shocked at a spurious e-mail that has been very recently sent into businesses and homes in Bermuda," he said in a written statement.

"The e-mail makes a number of statements including the allegation that Minister Renee Webb is a shareholder in Fort Knox Bermuda Ltd. and that Fort Knox has been negotiating with CableVision for over three years to buy their lines.

"The Directors of Fort Knox Bermuda Ltd wish to make it very clear that Minister Renee Webb is not a shareholder or investor in Fort Knox and has never been. While the Directors of Fort Knox hold the position that their company would be an excellent investment for any Bermudian, it is malicious to make such unfounded allegations."

Mr. Symonds also categorically denied that the company had been in negotiation with CableVision.Fort Knox was started in 1999 by four Bermudian information technology and telecommunication experts.Its owners are Mr. Symonds, Allison Thomas, Ricardo Swan, Shari Poe and Hugh Hollis.