Portuguese community leader Robert Pires yesterday flatly denied a claim by Senator Patrice Parris that she had answered his questions about alleged anti-Portuguese discrimination at Bermuda College.

Mr. Pires, a member of the College's board, has been trying to get answers about the criteria for selecting Honorary Fellows, pointing out that only one person of Portuguese descent has been chosen in 25 years.

Mr. Pires wrote a lengthy e-mail which was passed to Ms Parris, who chairs the Honorary Fellows Selection Committee, on November 4 raising a number of questions about the process.

Ms Parris wrote to him on November 19: "Your numerous comments have been noted, and where necessary will be taken into account when the Honorary Fellows Selection Committee reconvenes.

"Please note that I have been appointed to chair this committee, and I will therefore ensure that the announcement for nominations is adequately publicised to ensure that the process continues to be one that does not hint of discrimination towards any particular segment of the community."

Ms Parris, a Progressive Labour Party Senator, told The Royal Gazette last week that she had answered all of Mr. Pires questions in private to him and would not be commenting in the media.

But Mr. Pires said last night: "She has stated in The Royal Gazette that she answered all of my questions in private, but she clearly has not answered them at all.

"We've had no meeting. In her letter she acknowledges receipt of my e-mail which has a series of questions, but there is no attempt to respond. Its just been passed around and no one has dealt with it."

The college last week was hit by allegations of nepotism and discrimination to ensure "black male role models" are appointed at the institution.

Sociology lecturer Geoff Rothwell, who sat on the selection committee, told the Mid-Ocean News last week that he was so concerned about discriminatory hiring practices that he had to read out the Human Rights Act to fellow committee members.

Mr. Pires said that from information he was given, it appeared that the college has a preference for black male role models and as a result of this he has requested the college to investigate several instances which could suggest discriminatory hiring practices.

The college prepared a report into Mr. Pires' claims of discrimination against people of Portuguese descent in the Honorary Fellows nomination process, but he claimed it did not address his concerns.

In his e-mail he writes: "The report makes no comment with respect to diversity of nominees and gives little recommendation with respect to how the process can be improved.

"The selection committee includes no Bermudians of Portuguese or Anglo heritage. The white members of the selection committee are all foreigners who in some instances have spent only three or four years on the Island and have insufficient experience to judge who has or has not contributed to the community."

Mr. Pires writes that he deeply concerned that the selection committee chairman - who held the post before Sen Parris - allegedly told him that the reason why more people of Portuguese heritage were not chosen was because "they do not attend any of our programmes when we invite them".

"This was said to me in the presence of the President and I have already reported this to the chairman. When I asked who 'they' were, I was told 'Mount St. Agnes'.

"I took great exception to this as I am Portuguese but not Catholic, having been raised a Seventh-day Adventist. If in fact this was an appropriate basis for discriminating against the Portuguese in the selection process, did she in fact make a point of discriminating against Catholics in the selection process?

"Of course, discriminating against anyone on the basis of religion or creed is illegal. The President listened to all of this but to my knowledge did not caution the committee's chairman on the illegality of what she was saying.

"It should be noted that although a great deal of children of Portuguese heritage attend Mount St. Agnes, that children of other ethnicity attend, including blacks.

"These comments were most inappropriate, require an apology, and written assurance that the Portuguese are not to be excluded to be excluded from the Honorary Fellows programme because Mount St. Agnes does not attend college functions."

Sen. Parris said last night: "I responded to him in writing and if he wants to share that with you that's up to him. If he wants to make a big issue out of it that's a matter for him."