A long-awaited inquiry into serious crimes will take place in August, but there is already disappointment that it will not have the power to call key witnesses to speak.

Governor Thorold Masefield yesterday announced that the Commission of Inquiry into Serious Crimes in Bermuda would start on August 7 before a panel of overseas and Island officials.

Chairing the commission will be the former Attorney General of Montserrat Justice Stanley Moore. Joining him will be the former deputy chief constable of Derbyshire in the UK, Don Dovaston, and Shirley Simmons, a consultant with Bermuda lawyers Trott and Duncan.

Members of the public will be able to make representations to the inquiry, but yesterday the father of murder victim Rebecca Middleton -- whose death sparked the commission -- expressed his frustration that key players would not be forced to attend.

"It has no jurisdiction outside of Bermuda so there is no chance to subpoena anybody away from the Island,'' he said.

"A lot of people have a very key piece of information to give in our particular case.

"It would be nice to get the Attorney General of the time to answer questions but he won't be there.'' Mr. Middleton said he was pleased that the three-member panel appeared to be well qualified to handle the inquiry and that there had been no rush to appoint them.

He added that he was keen to see how the inquiry would take shape and how much time would be allocated to examine the circumstances of his 17-year-old daughter's rape and murder four years ago.

In addition, he said he was concerned that the case, which was controversial from start to finish, was not diluted or lost in the midst of other cases.

Mr. Middleton, speaking from his Belleville, Ontario home, said he would be flying to Bermuda for the inquiry but was undecided whether or not he would address the commission.

"It sounds as though it could be fairly long but I expect I will be there when our particular case is put forward.'' Rebecca's mother, Cindy Bennett, said she was pleased the process had finally been announced. "They knew they had problems so now it is time to do something,'' she said.

"I hope they will spend a good proportion of the time on Rebecca's case. That would be a very good starting point, because when they talked about having the inquiry it was going to be just on that, now it is much broader.'' The commission's terms of reference are to consider the "process of the prosecution of serious criminal offences and gathering of evidence and Police protocols for investigating serious criminal offences''.

In addition it will look at the "manner in which the Police investigation then relates to prosecutorial decisions and the administration of justice''.

It is expected to make recommendations after looking the various aspects.

Mr. Justice Moore served as a judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and has also served in British Virgin Islands. He is currently a Supreme Court Judge in the Bahamas.

Mr. Dovaston retired as deputy chief constable of Derbyshire Police last year, after 40 years of service.