The Ministry of Public Works contacted the Bermuda Police Service to “ask for advice and guidance” on how to proceed after Bermuda stone was removed from Black Watch Pass without formal authorisation.

Public Works Minister Craig Cannonier said that he had received a formal request on the evening of April 10 for permission to take the stone from the Black Watch Pass construction site. He said that because it was a Friday evening, he had planned to deal with the matter after the weekend.

However, by the time the weekend was over, on April 13, Mr Cannonier said that the stone had already been removed from the site.

Attorney Mark Pettingill confirmed yesterday that his client Thomas Gleeson took the stone after apparently being informed by a Works and Engineering employee that he could take the rubble, as it would soon be heading to the dump.

According to the ministry, Mr Gleeson has now been advised to return the stone.

Mr Cannonier denied unconfirmed “reports” heard this week by Walton Brown, a Member of Parliament for the area, and since which circulated in the media, claiming that Mr Gleeson told the employee that he had been authorised by the minister to take the property. Mr Cannonier called such an assertion “a complete falsehood”.

He added: “At no point have I, the Minister of Public Works, given authority for that stone to be removed.”

David Burt, the Shadow Minister of Finance, issued a statement yesterday morning pointing out that there are “strict laws in place to prevent the theft of government assets and the public deserve answers about what has happened to their property”.

According to financial instructions, only the permanent secretary can authorise permission for government property to be sold or passed on.

Mr Cannonier confirmed that Mr Gleeson turned up to the site on Saturday — and not on Sunday as previously suggested. At this time, an employee “misinformed” him with regards to him being allowed to take the property. Mr Cannonier admits that proper procedures were not followed within the ministry with regards to financial instructions. Financial instructions are required to be carried out only for property worth more than $1,000, but the value of the stone has not been ascertained.

He said that the issue is being dealt with internally to ensure that it does not happen again. “Unfortunately, it appears that one of our workers gave misinformation, which led to the removal of the stone on Saturday morning. We are now walking through that process.

“My understanding is that what was said is that the stone essentially was rubble; it was not good to be reused, as it was structurally unsound and that we as public works were going to dump it. It is worth nothing we are talking about a waste product. Our team contacted the Police and asked for advice on how to proceed.

“What I have learnt from this situation is that all staff must be aware of what the policies and procedures are. Unfortunately, some of us in the ministry may not be entirely aware of what those procedures are and that is what has led to this miscommunication. I want to make sure everyone is aware. It was my idea to get Police involved. It was I to say, ‘Team, this is the procedure and this situation was unacceptable’.”

The Police have advised the ministry that the matter with Mr Gleeson should be dealt with internally.

Asked whether he agreed with the requirement to follow financial instructions for every piece of material removed from a Government construction site, Mr Cannonier added: “We have to go through all that; even for trash. There is a policy in place and it’s a good policy.

“It is in place to avoid certain things like right now — this has all come as a result of not following procedure, even though it was worth nothing to us and we were going to dump it.”

Mr Pettingill defended his client by saying that he was told “face-to-face” by an employee that he should take the material quickly because it was intended for the dump.

“He was good enough to get it carted away,” Mr Pettingill said. “In order to be careful, he contacted me and I sent an e-mail to the ministry to let them know what had happened.

“It was my understanding it was rubble. My immediate question [after Mr Gleeson removed the material] was how do we regularise the position if you have a concern? I thought that was the end of it.

“Mr Gleeson agreed to hold on to it and keep it safe at his own expense until they decided what needed to be done.”

Keith Masser, the principal highway engineer, responded by saying: “Can you please advise that your client will retain the materials undamaged and in a secure facility until the outcome has been reached.”

The stone is in the Paget backyard of the Bermuda Feline Assistance Bureau, of which Mr Gleeson is the chief executive officer.