A two-day Press hunt in Bermuda for former Los Angeles Police Department detective Mr. Mark Fuhrman ended in embarrassment for Government yesterday.

The notorious prosecution witness in the recently-concluded O.J. Simpson double-murder trial was not on the Island, Labour and Home Affairs Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness revealed.

In a rapidly-organised press conference a day after he had confirmed that Mr.

Fuhrman was here, an embarrassed Mr. Edness told local and overseas reporters he had been given the wrong information.

Mr. Mark Furman, a bespectacled, well-dressed 44-year-old attorney from Boston, had been mistaken for the 19-year LAPD veteran.

The fiasco began when reports surfaced that Mr. Fuhrman -- who was labelled as a racist and liar during the Simpson trial -- arrived in Bermuda from Boston last weekend.

Bombarded by calls from those opposed to Mr. Fuhrman's alleged visit and the press, Mr. Edness on Monday said Mr. Fuhrman had arrived in Bermuda under his real name for a holiday.

But yesterday he said: "The Mark Fuhrman as far as we know is not in Bermuda.

"We were given verbal confirmation from the Airport that the Mark Fuhrman was in Bermuda. Based on that information we passed that on to you (the media).'' Mr. Edness said the verbal information was provided by "a very zealous'' and efficient officer at the airport.

"I can only apologise to you (the media) and the people of Bermuda,'' he said.

Mr. Edness later told The Royal Gazette that it was Registrar General Mrs.

Marlene Christopher who spotted the identity mix-up on a visitor landing card.

Mr. Furman, who arrived on Saturday with his wife Amy for a week-long stay, had come to Bermuda to play golf, Mr. Edness said.

The management of St. George's Club -- where Mr. Furman was staying -- reportedly did not know there was someone staying there by that name until Police, who were concerned about security at the club as a result of reporters and curious residents hanging around, informed them.

Mr. Edness noted that he called Mr. Furman yesterday afternoon to apologise for the fiasco and found him to be "a nice man''.

He also maintained that there was no reason to ban Mr. Fuhrman from the Island. And Mr. Edness said if Mr. Fuhrman came to Bermuda, he would be welcomed to enjoy his stay as long as he conformed to Bermuda's "law, procedures and practices''.

But protesters to Mr. Fuhrman's visit, including Ms Amani Flood, said they viewed Government's sanctioning of the former LAPD detective's visit as "a slap in the face''.

And yesterday Ms Flood told The Royal Gazette she and "dozens or scores of people'' had received verbal permission to hold a demonstration outside of the Government Administration Building on Parliament Street today.

It was then, Ms Flood said, she learned that reports about Mr. Fuhrman's visit were false.

And while she confirmed that the demonstration plans had been shelved, she said she was not fully satisfied that Mr. Fuhrman had not been on the Island.

"I'm not prepared to trust that it is the whole truth,'' she said. "I'm more inclined to believe that he was here. But Government did not anticipate the reaction it received.'' Ms Flood stressed that while she did not believe that people should be barred from Bermuda for their opinions, Mr. Fuhrman's case was more serious.

"We're not simply talking about opinions here,'' she said. "Mr. Fuhrman has acted on his feelings. Let us not lose sight of the fact that people may have been murdered, maimed, or falsely incarcerated as a result of this man.'' However, Mr. Edness disagreed. And he claimed the "mistake'' had brought some positive publicity for Bermuda.

"We got an interview for our Minister of Tourism on the American Journal'', he said with a chuckle.

But Opposition Leader Mr. Frederick Wade did not see the light side of the blunder.

He stressed that Mr. Edness "should make sure he gets his facts right next time''.

"He's embarrassed the whole community and spoiled the vacation for one of our treasured visitors,'' Mr. Wade said.