Bermudians should be offended and insulted by Britain's plan to investigate the Island's financial regime, said Premier Ewart Brown yesterday as he again banged the drum for Independence.

The review, announced by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling this week, will also cover financial operations in Cayman, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and the Virgin Islands.

Dr. Brown told the House of Assembly that Bermuda had nothing to fear or hide from the probe. But he added: "What we do have, is just reason to be offended and insulted."

Britain has supreme authority over Bermuda but did not contribute one penny to its livelihood argued Dr. Brown who said the UK investigation "should be an affront to every Bermudian".

He went on: "We have a colonial relationship which costs the taxpayers $2 million a year.

"We pay that without comment or notice for the upkeep of the palatial Government House and its 30-plus pristine acres at a time when land is at a premium in Bermuda.

"We pay that without comment or notice for the Governor and Deputy Governor's salary and their cars, their security, their travel, their housekeepers and maidservants."

Last night Opposition Works and Engineering spokeswoman Patricia Gordon-Pamplin pointed out the Premier had also burdened the taxpayer with his growing personal entourage.

She told The Royal Gazette: "The Premier himself is surrounded by more security than any other Premier has had. It is almost disingenuous on his part."

She said the Premier wanted to beat the drum for independence but there needed to be a proper education process about the pros and cons.

"When he talks about a couple of dollars being spent on the Governor the Premier gets all of that as well."

In April The Royal Gazette revealed the Premier had added two plainclothes Police minders who are routinely equipped with concealed handguns for his public appearances.

The Premier also took on a $100,000-a-year press officer soon after being appointed in October 2006.

In August the Cabinet Office advertised for a $60,000-plus house manager.

The ad sought a very good cook who could clean and entertain at Dr. Brown's luxury Smith's home Gombey House.

And in September it was revealed that Dr. Brown was getting a second new car — a Toyota Camry costing about $40,000, to go alongside his BMW 750Li, which he got in June at around $90,000.

That announcement coincided with news that Government was reducing vehicles in its fleet to save costs. In his address to Parliament yesterday Dr. Brown said Bermuda needed to cut its ties with Britain.

"To the young people I say, what if your mother had you stay at home forever and for that, you had a supremely comfortable existence laden with enviable amenities but anytime she wanted, she could barge into your room and search any of your private possessions. At what price convenience?

"I say to older Bermudians, what if this or any Bermudian government just decided because it could that you and other citizens would have your bank accounts reviewed because we were concerned about widespread bank fraud? At what price convenience?"

He said independence will "rightfully and righteously come perhaps not soon and perhaps not on my watch."

There was irony in the timing of this UK Treasury review, said the Premier.

"At a time when nations around the world are basking in the glow of the historic US election, some of the British territories are being brought to the knees of our colonial master by this intrusive intervention."

Dr. Brown said his Government will cooperate with the UK Treasury in every respect because that was the nature of the colonial relationship. "But we will do so with comment and under protest."

He added that issues of taxation and fiscal policy are solely the purview of the Bermuda Government.

"Any attempt to breach the principle of internal self-government will be stridently resisted.

"We will be as vigilant as our colonial status allows and ensure that this review is not a cloak by which to intrude on matters appropriately left to the internal government."

He said independent regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority was well staffed and "admirably led by a world-class board and equally capable senior executives".

"Bermuda only recently experienced prompt and unprecedented success in addressing the findings of the IMF and other agencies, and achieved a clean 'bill of health'.

"International business has confidence in Bermuda's existing structure and with good reason."

UBP education spokesman Grant Gibbons said as a financial jurisdiction Bermuda was bound to attract scrutiny from overseas it came from all sides as he reeled off a list including two reviews by the International Monetary Fund and studies by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, the OECD and the United States.

He said Britain had been forced to bail out its citizens who had lost money in Icelandic banks and now it was assessing potential liabilities in its territories.

Dr. Gibbons said: "I don't think we will have much of an issue, we are not a banking centre."

United Bermuda Party Finance Spokesman Bob Richards said he was concerned Britain might be hunting taxable income on investments squirrelled away offshore by its citizens.

Addressing the Premier's pro-independence speech he said Bermuda needed a pragmatist at its helm in tough times, not an ideologue.

He said most PLP supporters didn't support the idea of splitting from Britain at this stage.

And he said the PLP had not been consistent on independence.

When the UBP put the issue to a referendum in 1995 PLP leader Frederick Wade successfully urged supporters to abstain.

Former PLP leaders Lois Browne Evans and Jennifer Smith both accepted Damehoods from Britain while in 2006 Rolfe Commissiong accepted a Queen's certificate and badge of honour for his work on the Bermuda Independence Commission.