Opposition leader Pam Gordon last night said she believed Government had already struck a deal with Britain over its plans to change the Constitution.

She said despite the UK's Labour Government putting together the original constitutional conference more than 30 years ago to safeguard the interests of voters, it has failed to recommend that a conference be held in Bermuda to discuss the current proposals.

The Foreign Office has said, however, that full consultation should be carried out to ensure that a variety of opinions are voiced and sought.

But Ms Gordon said the pure fact that it did not suggest a conference be held led her to be suspicious.

See related story, Page 3 Gordon hints at UK deal on the Constitution "A Labour Government is now taking this stand, which gives us a feeling that some sort of deal has been struck,'' she said.

"There is no way the Premier would have gone as far as she has, otherwise.

"But on October 10, I will be meeting Baroness Scotland to outline to her the concerns we have.'' And she appealed to Government to hold a constitutional referendum to enable the voters to decide if the proposals should be accepted or not.

At the final meeting of the House of Assembly before the summer recess, Premier Jennifer Smith tabled a report on the changes, which was intended to be debated when Parliament re-convened in October.

It proposes to replace the current boundaries, resulting in fewer MPs and single-seat constituencies.

In addition, she plans for the establishment of an ombudsman to scrutinise the workings of Government, as recommended by the UK's recent White Paper on overseas territories.

Ms Gordon added: "There must be a mechanism in place to allow the people to have a say.'' Last night, Deputy Governor Tim Gurney said the UK Foreign Office had not said that a constitutional conference was not needed, although it had not said that it was, either.

He added: "The Foreign Office view is that the process must be done with wide and full consultation and debate.

"That doesn't necessarily mean that there needs to be a constitutional conference.'' Attorney General Dame Lois Browne-Evans last night said she could not believe anyone would accuse the British Government of striking any deal.

She added: "Is this worth while of a report. Come along, could you believe that?''