Filmmakers working on a documentary about the murder of Canadian teen Rebecca Middleton are still waiting to hear if permission will be granted for them to come to the Island.

Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy told the Senate yesterday that Toronto-based production company Cineflix would need to apply for temporary work permits for each member of its five-strong crew.

And he admitted that the soon-to-be-defunct Department of Tourism got it wrong by issuing the crew with “letters of introduction”, which he said were for journalists on fact-finding missions but were not appropriate in this case, instead of advising them to apply for work permits.

As accurately reported by The Royal Gazette earlier this week, Cineflix approached Government through local agents Moongate Productions and thought it had the go-ahead to arrive on Saturday.

Executive producer Jacqueline Bynon told this newspaper that plane tickets had been bought and arrangements made to film interviews and re-enactments this week but permission was rescinded late on Friday.

She said the crew had letters from the acting Chief Immigration Officer — but Senator Fahy said yesterday that letters were actually received from the acting Director of Tourism “welcoming the film crew to Bermuda”.

“That does not amount to permission from the Department of Immigration,” he added.

The Minister told the Upper Chamber: “The matter was brought to me at a standing Immigration meeting on March 20 [last Thursday] for consideration, as a result of there having been no work permit applications made.

“I made the correct determination during the meeting that temporary work permits must be applied for, which requires a ten-day lead time.

“The Department of Tourism was advised of the results of my determination by close of business on March 20. They were advised that the film crew needed to apply for temporary work permits.”

The Minister said the Department of Tourism prepared letters of introduction which “can be used in certain circumstances, including undertaking fact-finding missions — i.e. journalists on short assignments to cover a story”.

He said: “This is the policy under which the Department of Tourism presumably provided letters to the film crew.

“However, that is not appropriate in this circumstance, since the film crew are not undertaking a fact-finding mission, such as journalists from the Weather Channel who may be covering the Island during a hurricane.

“Instead, they are filming a documentary and, as such, temporary work permits for each member of the crew are required.”

He said an allegation by Rick Meens, who was hosting Rebecca on her vacation here when she was raped and killed in 1996, that Government was trying to sabotage the programme was false.

“There has been no sabotage,” added Sen Fahy.

Justice campaigner and author Carol Shuman, who was due to be interviewed for the hour-long ‘Murder in Paradise’ show, said yesterday: “I can certainly understand why the production team expected there to be no problem with a ‘welcome’.

“It would seem that Bermuda’s unique paperwork requirements caused some confusion. The producer told me she has covered international events for 20 years and has never experienced such.

“It sounds like this can be cleared up efficiently. It appears that the Minister needs to clarify to … staff that if such a ‘welcome’ goes out, a check of files should be made to assure that a work permit is recorded.”

Ms Bynon told this newspaper on Tuesday that Cineflix was “working very actively” to get approval and had no plans to shelve the project.

Rohan Shasti, from Moongate Productions, said: “What we know is that we applied on behalf of Cineflix for permission to work here through the Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT).

“They then issued letters of introduction to the Department of Immigration, and then on the evening of the 20th, I was told that they had been refused entry by Immigration.

“The next day [Friday], we enquired as to why and to see if we could get it overturned and apparently, as there has been a changeover from BDOT to BTA (Bermuda Tourism Authority) they have enforced the ten-day time period for the immigration paperwork to be processed and our initial application fell short of that date.”

He added: “In order to bring a film crew in you go through the Bermuda Department of Tourism. They then apply for you to Immigration and Customs.

“I am not sure if that is the case now with BTA, as I have not done a production through them as of yet, but that is how it has worked in the past.”

Sen Fahy said in his statement: “Neither the Department of Tourism [n]or the Bermuda Tourism Authority vet work permits, which is being suggested by many in the community.

“I would like to make it clear that it is a common practice for the Department of Immigration to consult with other government ministries when it is deemed appropriate, which they do as a matter of courtesy.”

He alleged that this newspaper’s initial story was “full of inaccuracies” but failed to mention that he was first asked to respond to claims — that the crew had permission from Immigration and that he personally intervened to stop the project — shortly before 10am on Monday morning.

His entire e-mailed response, sent after 5pm, was included in the story which appeared in print and online on Tuesday, as was a comment from a Ministry of Tourism and Transport spokeswoman.