Premier Dr. Ewart Brown's Government this morning survived a motion of no confidence after he apologised for his Guantánamo Four actions which have infuriated Progressive Labour Party colleagues.

The Premier faced fierce criticism from both sides of the House of Assembly in a fiery 14-hour motion of no confidence debate that raged until 5 a.m. today.

But the motion lost by 22 votes to 11, with all PLP MPs voting against it, one United Bermuda Party MP abstaining and another UBP absentee.

Following demands for an apology from PLP MPs including Culture Minister Dale Butler, Dr. Brown told the House toward the end of the debate: "I meant no harm and no disrespect. I apologise to members of this House and to the people of Bermuda for any of my decisions they disapprove of."

Some PLP front and backbenchers had spoken out in his defence, with Independent MP Wayne Furbert voting against the motion and Darius Tucker of the UBP pledging to vote against it but going absent when the vote came. Shadow Justice Minister Mark Pettingill abstained.

However, during the debate Dr. Brown was roundly attacked for jeopardising Bermuda's security and his lack of accountability, while many of his actions as leader of the Country also came under fire.

Mr. Butler led the charge from the front bench by declaring the whole of Cabinet was "absolutely stunned" that they did not hear of the Chinese Muslim Uighurs until they had already arrived on the Island from Guantánamo Bay last week.

The Culture Minister demanded Dr. Brown make a public apology in order to win his vote on the motion. He said he had asked the Premier to say sorry earlier in the day to no avail.

Rebel backbenchers Wayne Perinchief and Randy Horton delivered blistering attacks on the Premier, and had appeared ready to back the UBP's motion of no confidence in Dr. Brown's Government.

Former Premier Alex Scott also repeatedly expressed his disappointment in the Premier's actions.

Backbencher Neletha Butterfield echoed the demand for an apology while former Premier Dame Jennifer Smith said she wanted the Premier to acknowledge he must follow the rules.

Deputy Premier Paula Cox spoke of the importance of making Cabinet decisions collectively but said she did not support a motion of no confidence in the PLP Government.

She encouraged members to seek change by reconvening the delegates conference or setting up a special delegates conference.

But the Premier received an unexpected boost when Shadow Culture Minister Mr. Tucker announced he was breaking the UBP whip to vote against the motion.

Dr. Brown followed 13 hours of debate by launching into a furious speech in which he condemned the UBP and "its rabid newspaper" for the criticism he has received in recent days.

"This is a thinly and poorly designed attempt at callously and unconscionably using these four men," said Dr. Brown.

"I was performing an act of God that might not have been approved by the Queen, but I can assure you it was ordained by a higher power."

Immediately after the result, Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette: "I'm grateful for the support I got from my colleagues. I'm surprised we got as many as we did."

Also speaking after the vote, Opposition leader Mr. Swan said his own party members were on a three line whip — meaning they should have towed the party line.

Mr. Swan said: "We will refer back to our caucus procedures and look at disciplinary actions that go with that."

He added: "We certainly did a lot of work, it was not necessarily with our particular members. As you know there were a number of PLP members who were very dissatisfied with things but at the end of the day they were on a three line whip, they were in fear of expulsion from their party and elected not to vote with their conscience.

"I don't feel angry with anyone."

The Opposition needed five votes from non-UBP MPs to force Governor Sir Richard Gozney to remove Dr. Brown as Premier or call a General Election, assuming all their own MPs had backed the motion.

In a debate that began at 3 p.m. yesterday and finished at 5 a.m. today, politician after politician stood to denounce Dr. Brown for bringing the detainees to Bermuda without permission from the Governor or the UK, and without consulting any of his Cabinet except Immigration Minister Sen. David Burch.

The Premier has said it was an immigration issue and therefore under Government's remit, but the Governor says that is not the case and the matter was one for Britain to decide.

Numerous other complaints about Dr. Brown's leadership were also raised, including his "one-man" style of rule, controversial faith-based tourism initiative, firing of staff from the New York tourism office, huge contract award to his friend's ad agency GlobalHue, clamping down on the media, failure to represent blacks and whites, and constant spin and playing of the racecard.

Dr. Brown was absent for most of the debate.

Mr. Butler said: "As a Minister I am very disappointed I was not consulted. I was absolutely stunned — I think we all were — when we were not informed."

"The Premier should apologise to the House, his Cabinet, and the people of Bermuda. Withdraw your motion; I would like to accept an apology."

Mr. Perinchief said: "As a team we have to pull back and exert some control and some direction over our team captain."

Mr. Horton said: "Our honourable Premier has not been checked enough. I don't think we've held him accountable enough."

Mr. Scott said: "We can't take another hit like this. We really can't because I don't think we have felt the feel of it yet."

Ms Butterfield said: "This has been a huge pill to swallow. It's been reflected on the street; it's been reflected in our young people. As the young people are being disruptive, they are looking at us."

Dame Jennifer said: "I certainly would like some assurance or acknowledgement of the importance of the need to follow the rules."

The UBP suffered a blow when Mr. Furbert said he was against his former party's motion and, as a Christian: "I forgive the Premier for what he did."

Works Minister Derrick Burgess, Energy Minister Terry Lister and Environment Minister Glenn Blakeney were more sympathetic Ministers, with notable backbench support coming Zane DeSilva and Walter Roban.

Many PLP MPs were keen for the debate to focus on the Government, given the wording of Mr. Swan's motion: "This Honourable House has no confidence in the Government led by the Premier."

They shouted down Mr. Swan's claim that the UBP was merely looking to remove Dr. Brown, not the entire Government, and claimed a lengthy list of achievements by the PLP over the past ten years.

Mr. Burgess said the Guantánamo situation may have been an error, but the right decision had been made; Mr. Blakeney applauded the Premier for thinking outside the box.

Mr. Roban said the vote should fail because most MPs had admitted they had not lost confidence in Government, while Mr. DeSilva asked: "How dare the UBP try and tell us how to choose our Premier?"

Mr. Tucker said he admired the Premier's go-getter mindset and attitude of wanting to get things done.

Kicking off the debate, Mr. Swan said of Dr. Brown's Guantánamo move: "It has plunged Bermuda into an international debacle that has damaged us internationally in many respects because we have not followed our constitution.

"The situation that occurred when Bermuda awoke to the news about the Uighurs coming to Bermuda was news that not only blindsided us but on many levels showed callous disregard for the rule of law that this country has long respected and upheld."

The debate was preceded with a brief discussion over the wording of the motion, which has caused confusion over the past few days.

Speaker Stanley Lowe's suggestion of adding that the House deplores the Premier's handling of the Guantánamo Bay affair was rejected by the UBP, with veteran MP John Barritt claiming that was only one aspect of their complaint.

Mr. Swan said the Opposition wanted to delete the word "Government" so that the motion was only targeting the Premier, following comments from PLP MPs including Deputy Premier Paula Cox, that they would not support any motion that could lead to a General Election.

But UBP Deputy Leader Trevor Moniz accepted Mr. Lowe's suggestion that "Government" must remain. He later explained this reflected the gravity of his party's concerns.

Immediately after the result, Dr. Brown told The Royal Gazette: I’m grateful for the support I got from my colleagues. I’m surprised we got as many as we did.

Also speaking after the vote, Opposition leader Mr. Swan said his own party members were on a three line whip — meaning they should have towed the party line.

Mr. Swan said: We will refer back to our caucus procedures and look at disciplinary actions that go with that.

He added: We certainly did a lot of work, it was not necessarily with our particular members. As you know there were a number of PLP members who were very dissatisfied with things but at the end of the day they were on a three line whip, they were in fear of expulsion from their party and elected not to vote with their conscience.

I don’t feel angry with anyone.

In an email to the Royal Gazette, former Culture Minister Dale Butler said when asked if he resigned: " I did. That is correct. I could not see the plp fail. I appreciate the Premier's apology at the end but it was not a unifying speech. I have nothing further to say. The govt will go on.