The Opposition Progressive Labour Party has stepped up its attack on Government following a telephone conversation between Premier Craig Cannonier and PLP leader Marc Bean last week.

According to the Premier, the subject of a planned referendum on gaming was discussed between the two leaders, during which “it was made clear to us that the referendum process will be undermined if we don’t meet their demands to change the wording of the question”.

“It is clear to us that the Opposition’s political ambitions have moved ahead of the people’s business, and that the threat to disrupt the referendum, such as a boycott, is real,” the Premier said on Friday, announcing that the referendum had been cancelled.

But Mr Bean disputed the Premier’s claims, and in his own version of events made no reference to any threat to sabotage the referendum.

In a recent Facebook post, Mr Bean accused the Premier of “lies” and “ongoing distortions of the truth”.

Mr Bean insisted the Premier first suggested the referendum be scrapped at a meeting in September — a proposal that the PLP rejected.

The Premier, according to Mr Bean, raised the possibility of cancelling the referendum again in a telephone conversation last Wednesday.

“I told him that it is not possible at this stage, and the best approach would be to amend the question and then jointly undertake to educate the voter as to our collective vision for gambling if the voter says yes,” Mr Bean said.

“At the conclusion of the phone call, I clearly repeated the PLP position that the question should be amended and once done, the PLP will join the OBA in a joint committee that will lay out the vision for casino gambling in Bermuda, if the voting public vote yes.”

When asked this week to provide details of why he was concerned that the PLP could undermine the referendum process, the Premier declined to comment.

But last night a PLP spokesman insisted that no suggestion or threat was ever made by Mr Bean.

Asked by The Royal Gazette if Mr Bean ever made “any implied threat or suggest in any way that the PLP or other parties might in some way “undermine” the referendum process”, the spokesman said: “No.”

Earlier this week, PLP Senator Marc Daniels suggested that the Premier had recorded the telephone conversation.

Although the Premier denied that claim, The Royal Gazette understands that Tourism Minister Shawn Crockwell and Attorney General Mark Pettingill were with Mr Cannonier when the conversation took place, and that the call was put on speakaphone.

That move has now been criticised as “disturbing” by PLP Deputy Leader Derrick Burgess, who said the discussion “was supposed to be a one-on-one conversation”.

“This decision is worsened by the Premier’s embellishing of the conversation to the people of Bermuda,” Mr Burgess added.

“Anyone meeting with the Premier or anyone from the OBA going forward would understandably be concerned about confidentiality and whether what is said will be twisted, distorted and end up in the public domain.

“Leaders are expected to conduct the people’s business with dignity, humility and integrity. Last week, Premier Cannonier let Bermudians down with his words and deeds and violated that standard.

“The OBA have a history of breaking promises and with their Parliamentary majority have the power to move whatever they desire through Parliament with or without the PLP’s support, but this should be done for the right reasons.

“Our political system works best when politicians, regardless of political affiliation, are able to work together. Despite sometimes vast political differences this system has worked for over 50 years.

“For there to be collaboration there first must be trust. Trust broken is not easily rebuilt. The Premier and his OBA colleagues have recently given the impression that they are not trustworthy and will need to work diligently to erase that impression so we may all work together to get our country headed in the right direction.”

The Premier yesterday declined to respond to Mr Burgess’s remarks.