publicising immediately the latest report on Bermuda's criminal justice system.

Mr. Wade suggested the United Bermuda Party were running scared over the contents of Judge Stephen Tumim's report.

"A pending election is obviously a factor,'' he said.

Mr. Wade said the report could well be politically embarrassing for the Government.

It was likely to spotlight the overcrowding of the prisons, and the number of inmates who should not be incarcerated, he added.

Judge Tumim, Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, carried out his in-depth review in August.

A draft of the report has been in the hands of Government for several weeks.

Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness has vowed it will be published.

But on Tuesday he told The Royal Gazette some factual errors had been discovered in the report's pages.

These needed correcting before Government released the report.

Mr. Edness has refused, however, to commit himself to a date for publication.

Yesterday Mr. Wade called for the report -- even in its raw form -- to be published.

He stressed he had been personally assured by Judge Tumim the report would be a public document.

"I think Government should release it immediately. The public has a right to know the recommendations,'' he said.

Mr. Wade said crime was a key issue facing the Island, and the Progressive Labour Party was keen to focus on it.

Proper debate, however, was being hampered by Government's failure to publish Judge Tumim's report.